Justice Divided; A Judicial History of Sebastian County Book-signing and Program with Judge Jim Spears

Join us for an evening of discussion and discovery with Judge Jim Spears (Attorney, Public Defender and former judge) as he discusses the complete history of the Sebastian County Judiciary with his newest book, "Justice Divided; A Judicial History of Sebastian County". The book-signing and program begins at 6:00 pm. Doors open at 5:30 with light refreshments and drinks. This is a free public event.  

“Justice Divided” is now an award-winning book! It took first place in The Author Zone (TAZ) annual awards program in the fall of 2022!

Tom Dillard, Arkansas historian and newspaper columnist writes, "Anyone interested in judicial history will be pleased to learn of a new book by Judge Jim Spears. Justice Divided, which pertains to the circuit judges of Sebastian County, takes its title from the county having two courthouses--one in Greenwood and another in Fort Smith. This is not a dry tome on legal minutia, rather it is the briskly written story of how lawyers and judges on the Arkansas border attempted to dispense justice."

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Professor Billy Higgins, University of Arkansas in Fort Smith comments, "Jim Spears, former Circuit Judge of Sebastian County, is by trade a legal scholar, and by interest and inclination  a writer of history. He has out these two talents together in his new book Justice Divided: A History of the Sebastian County Judiciary. The organization and skillful writing style of Spears will not only inform but sometimes amaze the reader with the perceptive stories presented, that occurred in and out if the courtroom.  Arkansas historians are obliging  to Judge Spears for sharing his immense expertise with us."

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Michael B Dougan, Scholar in Residence, J.V. Bell House (ESt. 1895) states, "No one who reads Judge Spears masterly and detailed article on the seemingly simple history of Sebastian County’s totally unique governments will ever feel the same way again about Greenwood and Fort Smith, and there are plenty of laughs along the way as well as court cases that raised issues that are still with us today. A whole tourist industry lies inside this book."

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Tom Wing, Assistant Professor of History, Director Drennon-Scott Historic Site, University of Arkansas - Fort Smith shares, "Jim Spears (Attorney, Public Defender and former judge) has given us a complete history of the Sebastian County Judiciary. Formed from part of Crawford County in 1851, Sebastian County and the early Crawford era is a mirror reflecting the history of the entire State of Arkansas.  From the unpredictable frontier and territorial days to the divided opinions of the Civil War years, and on to the Republican dominance of Reconstruction, then back to the Democrats in charge before the turn of the century, the story is rich, detailed and full of interesting anecdotes. Anyone wanting to learn more about Arkansas, will benefit from reading this book."