The Hon. J. Gregory Magness is a judge for the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas. He was elected to the bench in 2020, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. James O. Cox.
Prior to his election, Magness was a partner at Hardin Jesson & Terry, where he specialized in banking, bankruptcy, commercial transactions, creditors rights, and workers compensation matters.
Magness earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Arkansas in 1987. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Texas School of Law in 1991. As a law student, he was the associate editor for the Texas Law Review.
He is admitted to practice in Arkansas (1991), Oklahoma (1992), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (1992), the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (1992), and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (1992).
His memberships have included the Arkansas Bar Association, the Oklahoma Bar Association, and the Sebastian County Bar Association. He also sat on the Board of Education for the Fort Smith Public Schools and the Board of Western Arkansas Legal Services.
A lifelong resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Magness attended Southside High School. He and his wife, Van, have two children. Magness describes himself as a constitutional conservative.