Registration closes at 10:00 AM central time on February 2, 2021.
Join Judge Wylie Branton, Jr. for a lively lunchtime discussion hosted by the University of Arkansas School of Law, the Office of Admissions, and the Arkansas Alumni Association.
Judge Wiley A. Branton, Jr., now retired, served as a circuit court judge in the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Arkansas from July 1993 until his retirement on December 31, 2020. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He obtained his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Since graduating from law school in 1976, Judge Branton has had 45 years of varied legal and academic experience including judicial service, private practice of law, service as general counsel for a District of Columbia government agency, service as an adjunct professor of law at two law schools, and service as both a full-time and adjunct college professor at three colleges. Judge Branton has been active on several local, state, and national committees and organizations which seek to improve outcomes for children and families and the justice system. Some of his more noteworthy activities include Law Examiner of the Arkansas State Board of Law Examiners, the Arkansas member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, Member of the Arkansas Bar Association Board of Governors, Board Member of the Arkansas Coalition of Juvenile Justice, and President of the Arkansas Judicial Council. Judge Branton has been the recipient of several awards and honors including the Maurice Cathy Award For Outstanding Contributions To The Arkansas Lawyer Magazine presented by The Arkansas Lawyer, the Juvenile Judge of the Year Award presented by the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice, the Soul of Humanity Award presented by the Central High National Historic Site, and the Friend of Children Award presented by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. Judge Branton is the son of the late Wiley A. Branton, a distinguished civil rights attorney, and former Dean of the Howard University School of Law. Judge Branton was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1951, where his father was one of the first black students to enter and graduate from law school at the University of Arkansas. Judge Branton was six years old when the Little Rock Central High School crisis erupted in 1957. His father served as the lead counsel for the black plaintiffs in the case that became known as Cooper v. Aaron. Judge Branton has been married to his wife Stephanie for 38 years. The couple have two adult children and one new grandchild for whom he is absolutely overjoyed. Judge Branton is a frequent lecturer and presenter on subjects of juvenile justice and civil rights history.