Reprise | Steve Clark, Former Arkansas Attorney General

Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy

Arkansan native John Steven Clark was raised in Leachville, Arkansas watching his father dabble in local politics and decided early in life that he wanted to be a politician as well. He graduated from ASU and attended Law school in Fayetteville. In 1973, Clark became assistant dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law. It was there he met and became friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 1976, Clark left the Law School to become chief of staff for Governor David Pryor. After Clinton was elected Governor, Clark became Arkansas’s Attorney General and was the longest serving attorney general in Arkansas history. Clark has argued eight cases before the US Supreme Court. His most famous state case was creationism v evolution education in schools. Although this was not argued at the Supreme Court level, it was followed internationally and Clark was publicly denounced by evangelist Pat Robertson on the 700 Club show. In 1990, Clark was accused and convicted of mishandling state funds and charged with felony theft by deception. He lost his law license and moved several times. He lived in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. In 2004, Governor Huckabee pardoned Clark. In 2007, he returned to Fayetteville and a year later became the president and chief executive officer of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.