LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ Supreme Court and its chief justice are publicly feuding, days after she was sworn into office, over who has the authority to fire the court’s top officials.

Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker on Wednesday declared invalid two per curiam orders her fellow justices issued in the past week, the latest development in an ongoing dispute over the scope of her authority.

Blacklock is replacing retired Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, while Abbott's legal adviser James Sullivan takes the open spot on the bench.

Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.

Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker cited a non-official memo from her predecessor as the basis for her administrative authority in a mass email sent to judicial employees Monday. Former Chief Justice John Dan Kemp wrote and signed a memo in February 2017,

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned on Tuesday that the United States must continue to uphold "judicial independence."

Family members, politicians and members of the Montana Supreme Court welcomed newly elected Chief Justice Cory Swanson during a swearing-in ceremony Monday in Helena, marking the beginning of a new leadership chapter for the state’s highest court.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) appointed Justice Jimmy Blacklock, a conservative ally of the governor, to serve as the chief justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Blacklock will replace Nathan Hecht, the state court’s longest-serving justice,