Hon. J. Andy Riner is a judge for the 18th West Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas. He was elected to the bench in 2020.
The 18th West Judicial Circuit includes Montgomery and Polk Counties.
Prior to his election, Riner was the Prosecuting Attorney for the 18th West Judicial District, having served in that capacity since 2011. He began his prosecutorial career as a deputy prosecuting attorney with the 15th Judicial District (2002 to 2005) and later served as the chief deputy prosecuting attorney with the 18th West Judicial District (2005 to 2008).
His tenure as a prosecutor was punctuated with time as the City Attorney for the City of Ola (2004 to 2005) and stints as a sole practitioner (2005 and 2008 to 2010), deputy public defender in Johnson County (2005), and the Public Defender in Scott County (2008 to 2010).
Riner received a B.A. in English language and literature from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1996. He went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law in 2000.
After graduating from law school, Riner began his legal career as an attorney with the State of Arkansas Office of Child Support Enforcement (2000 to 2002), where he remained until becoming a prosecutor for the 15th Judicial District in 2002.
His memberships have included the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association and the Polk and Montgomery County Bar Association. Riner is a certified instructor with the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy and received Arkansas Supreme Court Training Certification for Parent Counsel cases.
He is an area representative for West Central Arkansas for JoyHouse Ministries, Inc. and served as president of the Bill Lea Memorial Law Enforcement Appreciation Organization, Inc. and a co-founder and vice president of The Barnabas Partnership, Inc. and Created in His Image Ministries, Inc.
Riner sat as a member of the Executive Board and Missions Committee for the Ouachita Baptist Association; a board member of Covenant Ministries, Inc.; a member of the RMCC Foundation Board for Rich Mountain Community College; and a committee member of First Baptist Church Hatfield.
He has also served as a Pulpit Supply Preacher for the Ouachita Baptist Association and a youth Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church Hatfield.
Riner received the Superhero Award from the Mercy Child Advocacy Center in 2017.