Courtney Hudson Goodson

Courtney Rae Hudson (born 1973) is a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. She was elected to the position in 2010.

Hudson graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a Bachelor of Arts in 1994. She graduated with high honors from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

2010

Hudson defeated Circuit Judge John Fogleman of Marion, Arkansas for the Position 3 Associate Justice position. The election was for an eight-year term. During the campaign, former President Bill Clinton and former Arkansas 3rd Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt supported Hudson.

The election saw hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by dark money groups attempting to defeat Hudson, making it the most expensive Supreme Court election in Arkansas history to that point. Hudson won by a 57% to 43% margin.

2016

Hudson sought the Chief Justice position in November 2016 shortly after the announcement of Howard Brill as interim chief justice. She was able to maintain her Position 3 seat while running for Chief Justice. Circuit Judge John Dan Kemp won the seat by a 58–42 margin.

2018

Seeking reelection, Hudson won the most votes in a three-way non-partisan judicial election on May 22, 2018. A runoff election will be held between Hudson and David Sterling in November 2018.

Hudson was married to John Goodson of Texarkana, Arkansas, a powerful attorney, political donor, and member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. She divorced Mark Henry, her husband of 14 years, shortly after winning election to the Arkansas Supreme Court. On August 27, 2019, Goodson was granted a divorce decree and henceforth will revert to her maiden name, Courtney Rae Hudson.