Saline County, Arkansas

Overview
Judge McCallister’s case load includes:  Saline County Juvenile Court, Juvenile Drug Court, Criminal, Family Court, Probate, and some civil cases.

Criminal Court
Circuit Court Criminal Cases include all felony cases (i.e. burglary, drug charges, murder cases) as well as appeals from the Saline County District Court.

Criminal Plea and Arraignment for 1st Division is held on the 1st Monday of each month beginning at 8:30 a.m.  Additional hearings or trials are scheduled on Judge McCallister’s trial calendar.

Family Court (Domestic Relations)
Judge McCallister handles 50% of all Divorces, Guardianships, Child Custody and other related cases filed in Saline County.

How do I get a transcript?
Transcripts are not free, and the court reporter typically requires a pre-deposit prior to ordering a transcript of a hearing/trial.  Transcripts are $4.10 per page, which is set by state law.  All transcript requests much be submitted in writing to the Judge’s court reporter, Amber While.  You may also mail a letter to 200 N. Main, Benton, AR  72015 or fax us at 501.303.5636.  Your request must include, the date of the hearing; the case name and number, and whether you are requesting a portion or the entire transcript.  After receiving the request, Ms. White will estimate the transcript cost for your deposit.  Transcription will not begin without payment.

Juvenile Court
Welcome to Saline County Juvenile Court, the Honorable Bobby McCallister presiding.  Juvenile Court is responsible for adjudicating matters regarding minors.  Crimes committed by children and minors are treated differently and differentially regarding the same crimes committed by adults to give young, impressionable youth a second chance.  Cases generally fall into two major categories:  Delinquency and Family In Need of Services (FINS).  

Intake is the first step in the Juvenile Court process.  When a juvenile is cited with a delinquent charge, the juvenile comes in for an Intake appointment.  The purpose of the Intake is to advise the juvenile of their rights and to gather background information on the family to ensure the Court order the appropriate services during the adjudication.  The possible services the Judge will order include the following:  Probation, community service, counseling, drug and alcohol classes, electronic monitoring, house arrest, detention in a juvenile detention facility, commitment to the Division of Youth Services (DYS).  Intake services also includes at the discretion of intake officer and juvenile prosecutor diversion programs for select, first time, non-violent offenders.  Diversion programs include, but are not limited to: Teen Court, Aftercare classes, and Mediation.

Delinquency cases may be filed when a juvenile ages 10-17 commits an act that would be a crime (not including traffic and game and fish violations) if committed by an adult, or minors in possession of handguns.  The prosecuting attorney files a petition with the court and the juvenile and his/her parents are made defendants and must answer to the court.

Family In Need of Services (FINS) cases may be filed when a child’s behavior includes such acts as running away, being truant or being disobedient to his/her parents and it is brought to the attention of the juvenile authorities, often by parents or school officials.  The goal of a FINS case is to work out a course of action to stop these problems.  FINS cases also include kids who commit crimes who are under 10 and kids who have mental health and alcohol and drug related problems.

Judge McCallister in Saline County established Truancy FINS court in 2009.  Truancy FINS cases are referred by the schools to the Truancy Prevention Officer when a juvenile has had excessive unexcused absences.  The Truancy Officer works through the community based mental health provider, and refers Truancy cases to Juvenile Court when a Truancy FINS may need to be filed.  Saline County conducts monthly Truancy FINS court to meet with clients who have been referred for a court involved Truancy FINS.

Juvenile Drug Court was established in December 2007.  The purpose of the juvenile drug court program in Saline County is to reduce drug-related juvenile delinquency, protect our community from the effects of drugs and drug use, to reduce the number of delinquent juveniles re-entering our juvenile court system and ultimately to protect Saline County as a whole from the effects of illicit drugs.  The focus of Saline County Juvenile Drug Court is to guide juveniles and their families toward substance abuse recovery by using a method of phase graduation, each involving sanctions and incentives.  The Juvenile Drug Court Program is only available to non-violent offenders that are approved by the Juvenile Drug Court Team.

Dependency Neglect and DHS cases are heard in Judge Gary Arnolds’ court.  Please refer to his web page for more information.

Phone: 501.303.5635
Fax: 501.303.5636

Juvenile Court Staff
102 S. Main St
Benton, AR  72015

Phone: 501.303.5730
Fax: 501.303.5665