Biographical Information
Alice Lightle was born on April 11, 1954 to Ed and Marion Lightle in Searcy, Arkansas. Ed was an attorney and Marion was a newspaper reporter and housewife. As a child raised on a farm Alice learned how to ride horses, work with cattle and developed quite a green thumb. Since her father raised English Setters, Alice quickly developed a great love for animals. Alice was an only child, and was raised in the Episcopal Church. Alices’ father served as a State Representative and Senator. He often took her to the capitol. At an early age she began to learn about and appreciate public service and giving back to the community.
Alice attended all twelve grades in Searcy Public Schools. Upon high school graduation she attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She majored in English, History and Political Science. While there she became quite a contender on the tennis court, and went on to teach Tennis in Atlanta for five years after her graduation. In 1981 Alice returned to Little Rock to attend the Bowen School of Law. She passed the Bar in 1984. Alice began her legal career at the Worker’s Compensation Commission as a law clerk.
In 1984 Alice met her future husband, Stuart Holcomb, and they married in the spring of 1985. Their three children are Edward, 20, Foster, 18, and Katie, 16. All three children have attended Little Rock Public Schools. While Alice and Stuart divorced in 2003, they remain dedicated parents who share lunch each Wednesday to discuss issues concerning Edward, Foster, and Katie.
In 1986 Alice went to work for then Chancellor Lee Munson as a law clerk. It was during this period that the Juvenile Court system had been ruled unconstitutional by the Arkansas Supreme Court, and Alice was called upon by the Chancery judges to sit as a Juvenile Master.
In 1987 Alice was appointed to serve as the Chancery Clerk of Pulaski County, a position that is now combined into one elected position of Circuit Clerk. As Chancery Clerk, Alice was responsible for the first computerization of the Clerks’ office and the beginning of the wage garnishments to pay child support. Due to the excessive increases in case loads the number of Courts went from four to ten, with Alice managing this important transition.
After Alice left the clerk’s position in 1993, she worked for the Administrative Office of the Courts as the lobbyist for the state court trial judges during the 1993 legislative session before joining Governor Jim Guy Tucker’s administration as legal counsel in his office. She worked extensively in 1994 on a special session called by the Governor to pass criminal justice reforms. In 1996 Governor Tucker appointed her as the management commissioner at the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. While working full time in these positions, Alice was involved in her children’s school and activities at Forest Park Elementary, Horacemann Middle School, Central High School.
Alice served as a lobbyist for the Arkansas Bar Association during the 1999 and 2001 legislative sessions. She also served as a contract lobbyist working with other groups on public policy and social justice issues. She has worked on election reform, sentencing issues, and racial profiling. She grew up around politics and working at the Legislature came naturally.
Alice has been involved in numerous political campaigns throughout her extensive career. She credits her father for her interest in the politics and the law, and her mother for her intellectual curiosity.
Alice was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe in June, 2007 to the Little Rock District Court, Position 3. This is what Alice says about her job as the District Judge:
“To this job I bring a lifetime of experience in public service, in court administration, in public policy and in the law.
Serving as a District Judge means serving your community. For me this is an opportunity to give back to a community that has always given to me. To me this job is about making our neighborhoods safe and about creating opportunities for people to do better with their lives. There are some people you can’t help Some don’t want help. Others need to be locked up from society. But there are others that can better themselves or help their families; they just need a chance to do that.
This court can create programs that offer a better alternative than crime and drugs and jail. We all have to be willing to step up and take a hard look at new alternatives; we have to be open to change. We have to turn the tide of repeat offenders and work to make our neighborhoods and city safe for everyone.”
