FORT SMITH - Practicing Attorney Joshua W. Bugeja is seeking election to the Fort Smith
District Court, Division Two judgeship, according to a press release.
Since 2010, Bugeja has worked predominately in private practice, both as
the owner/operator of the Bugeja Law Firm, and previously with the Meadors
Law Firm. He also worked simultaneously as a part-time public defender for
Sebastian and Crawford counties from 2013 until 2016. He is admitted to
practice in the Western and Eastern Districts of Arkansas, the 8th Circuit
Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Bugeja has
represented clients across the state in an assortment of civil and criminal
cases, including multiple jury trials. He is a member of the Arkansas Bar
Association and Sebastian County Bar Association.
Bugeja earned a bachelor’s degree in Writing with a minor in Philosophy
from the University of Central Arkansas and later graduated from the
University of Tulsa College of Law. He is a Fort Smith native and
graduated from Southside High School in 2002. He often volunteers to help
with the Boy Scouts of America and with the Fort Smith National Historic
Site for their night court re-enactments. He resides in Fort Smith with
his wife Meredith and their two year old daughter.
“As a self-made, first generation attorney, I’ve had to work hard to get to
where I am and keep the lights on so to speak, like a lot of people in this
area. I’ve seen firsthand the need for courts to be run efficiently and
impartially and have benefited from representing clients in countless city,
state, and federal courts across the state. Not everyone can afford an
attorney and, in many cases, one won’t be appointed, making it critical
that a judge listens to both sides and applies the law properly. I’ve
learned that when a court isn’t fast or just, in addition to the litigants,
taxpayers also suffer because more money is spent resolving needless
appeals and the problems are only compounded,” Bugeja said in his
announcement.
“Unlike the stereotypical image most people have of lawyers, I don’t come
from money, make a lot of it, or have pre-existing political connections
which could impair my ability to be independent or apply the values I have
been raised with to the cases in front of me. The viewpoint I offer is new
and unlike the status quo, combined with my being fiscally conservative and
dedicated to seeking fairness in an unfair world. While I may be the
underdog in this race, I hope my unique viewpoint is something that will
resonate with voters and I would be humbled by their support.”
Release submitted by candidate