Steele Hays at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Current assignment
- Court of Appeals of Arkansas
- Jurisdiction
- Arkansas · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Steele Hays
Former Judge · Arkansas Court of Appeals
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2001-present
- Marion Steele Hays (1925–2011) was an American jurist who held the role of an Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1981 to 1994, known for his liberal judicial philosophy and frequent dissents on capital punishment and racial issues.
- He also held the role of a Pulaski and Perry County circuit judge (1969–1971) under Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
Education
- B.A. in history and political science from the University of Arkansas in 1948 and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School the same year.
Additional information
- Wrote the 1983 landmark decision in Jim DuPree v.
- In 1979, Governor Bill Clinton appointed him to the inaugural Arkansas Court of Appeals.
- Born March 25, 1925 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Hays was the son.
- Date of birth: 1925
- Alma School District No. 30, striking down Arkansas’s public school funding system as unconstitutional.
- Hays co‐founded the prestigious Little Rock law firm Spitzberg, Mitchell and Hays
- handling civil, family, and pro bono cases Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
- Dissented alone in every case upholding the death penalty, calling it immoral and unconstitutional.
- He authored 652 opinions and wrote 213 dissents and 33 concurrences during his tenure.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Statewide
Arkansas Judiciary publishes electronic-hearing Zoom resources and court-user guides for remote proceedings.
Zoom Guides for Court UsersArkansas Judiciary: Electronic Hearings With Zoom ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
Arkansas Judiciary publishes state-district-court digital audio recording guidance as an official court resource.
AOC Provisional Guidelines for Digital Audio Recording in State District CourtsArkansas Judiciary: District Courts ↗
Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
Arkansas Court of Appeals current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
View Arkansas Court of Appeals current judicial profile ↗Arkansas Judiciary: Electronic Hearings With Zoom
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Arkansas Judiciary: Electronic Hearings With Zoom ↗Arkansas Judiciary: District Courts
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Arkansas Judiciary: District Courts ↗