Circuit Judge, 8th Juvenile Division
With a servant’s heart and a penchant for listening deeply, Tjuana Byrd Manning seemed to have the makings of a judicial giant from the start. Manning did, in fact, set her professional aims on service of the greater good, but her initial dream was to be a pediatrician. As a premed major in college, she quickly learned that was not going to work out.
“I don’t do needles at all,” Manning said. “I couldn’t even prick my or anyone else’s finger in the biology lab.”
Instead, Manning looked to the legal profession for her chance to make an impact. She obtained a degree in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville before attending the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Her first year of law school, she even brushed up against the legal system in a truly unique way — admittedly thanks to a situation in which no one hopes to find themselves.
“My car had been stolen by someone I knew from the driveway at home,” Manning said. “Two weeks later, I was in Pine Bluff with a friend for UAPB homecoming, and while driving through the parking lot at the mall, we drove past my car. I got out, used my key to open it up and drove it to the police department to reclaim it.”
Her first job out of law school was as a public defender in Little Rock District Court, and upon entering private practice, Manning sharpened her focus to juvenile matters. She served as an attorney ad litem for children in foster care, as well as being appointed to boards dealing with child abuse and neglect in the juvenile justice system. In 2021, she took her seat on the bench as a juvenile division circuit court judge.
In addition to working toward better outcomes for children inside the courtroom, Manning is a staunch advocate of many causes that serve women, children and the elderly outside of court.
“I support the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Ivy Foundation of Little Rock, Continental Societies, Inc., and my church, St. Mark Baptist Church,” she said.
