Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker  has appointed Judge Mark Klappenbach as chief judge of the Arkansas  Court of appeals, replacing Chief Judge Brandon Harrison

Judge Klappenbach graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree  in accounting. He then graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 1984.

He was first elected to the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. Prior to serving on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Judge Klappenbach worked over 31 years in the legal and accounting fields, including work as a public defender, deputy prosecuting attorney and in private practice.

Klappenbach’s four year  term began on  January 1