The Hon. R. Gunner DeLay is a judge for the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Asa Hutchinson on July 1, 2019, filling a vacancy newly created by the Arkansas General Assembly.
Prior to his appointment, DeLay was a judge for the Sebastian County District Court, a position to which he was named in 2018. Before that, he spent time as the Prosecuting Attorney for Sebastian County (2007 to 2008), where he oversaw the 12th Judicial Drug Task Force.
DeLay earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas in 1985. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Arkansas, William H. Bowen School of Law in 1988.
A lifelong resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, DeLay has served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1995 to 1999) and the Arkansas State Senate (1999 to 2003). He identifies as a constitutional conservative, an originalist, and a textualist in the mold of the Hon. Clarence Thomas and the Hon. Anthony Scalia. DeLay and his wife, Robin, have four children.