Mark is a skilled public administrator and manager; as Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth District of Arkansas (Pulaski and Perry Counties), Mr. Stodola oversaw a staff of over 100 employees responsible for the prosecution of over 12,000 felonies annually, as well as all juvenile and misdemeanor cases in the Judicial District.

Mark has worked to clean up and keep safe the streets of Little Rock and communities across the state; as a trial attorney and prosecutor, Mr. Stodola has handled dozens of trials before the circuit chancery Courts of Arkansas and the U.S. District Court including several successfully prosecuted high profile homicide cases.

Mark has a thorough knowledge of city law and legal procedure; as City Attorney for Little Rock, he served as legal counsel for all litigation filed on behalf of or against the City of Little Rock. Mr. Stodola was responsible for all legal opinions and advice given to the City Board of Directors and the preparation and review of all city ordinances. He personally initiated and supervised the updating and re-codification of the Little Rock Municipal Code; was involved in the negotiation, drafting, and review of literally hundreds of city ordinances and resolutions, and issued over 50 formal legal opinions issued each year on matter s affecting the City of Little Rock.

From a practical standpoint, Mr. Stodola provided legal representation and direction to forty-seven (47) department heads or division chiefs within the organizational make-up of the City of Little Rock and to thirty (30) boards and commissions, including, among others, the Departments of Finance, Personnel, Neighborhoods and Planning, and Public Works; as well as the Civil Commission, Planning Commission, and Zoning Boards of Adjustment.

As Prosecuting Attorney, Mr. Stodola was honored with the opportunity to speak to the International Congress of the Judiciary sponsored by the government of Argentina and held in the country’s capital, La Plata. Mark was also hand-picked by the National District Attorneys Association to lecture on the American criminal justice system to the Procuracy of the Russian Federation in Moscow at a program hosted jointly by the US Department of State and USAID.

Mark has helped to prepare the next generation of Arkansas, US, and global leaders as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at UALR, and in the masters program on administrative law and politics atWebster University. Mr. Stodola has also taught as an adjunct professor at the UALR Bowen School of Law on Municipal Government, and has also taught several courses in the Criminal Justice Department at UALR.

During his tenure as Prosecuting Attorney, Mark focused his energies on breaking up gangs, stomping out drugs, and preventing youth violence, having drafted and managed the successful passage of countless criminal statutes including the Arkansas Safe Schools Act, the Arkansas Gang Organization and Enterprises Act, Drug Abatement Act (which provides an innovative approach to fighting the drug problem by shutting down drug houses as public nuisances), and legislation requiring school principals to report any criminal activity that occurs in schools. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has singled out for special recognition his efforts and leadership in creating a Gang Prosecution Unit to fight gang crime in the Housing Authority Neighborhoods.

Mark continued to seek new and innovative ways to prevent, prosecute, and help communities cope with crime when he created in his office one of the first Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Units in the country along with an expanded Victim Assistance Program, allowing case workers to specialize in this area of community concern. His tireless efforts have earned him awards from the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis, Inc.

Positions Held
Mr. Stodola has served as Consultant to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ). His expertise has been used in the following areas:
 

 Vice-President of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA)

 Selected to lecture to the Argentine Judiciary on trial by jury, International Congress on Trial by jury, La Plata, Argentina, September 1997, Hosted by the Colegio De Abogados de La Plata and H. Camara De Diputados de la Providence de Buenoes Aires.

 Selected by NDAA to lecture to the Procuracy of the Russian Federation on the American Criminal Justice System, Moscow, Russia, November 16th-26th, 1996. Hosted by Rule of Law Consortium, USAID and US Department of State, Washington D.C.

 Co-Chair of the NDAA Violent Crime Working Group

 Co-Chair of the NDAA Drug Control Committee

 Co-Chair of the NDAA Federal Legislation and Lobbying Committee

 Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice Department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR)

 Adjunct Professor UALR School of Law

 Adjunct Professor Webster University, Public Policy & Administration (1995) Legal Foundations of Public Administration (1997)

 Adjunct Professor Park College (Little Rock Air Force Base Campus) Business Law

 Adjunct Professor UALR College of Business MBA program

 Guest Instructor Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

 Instructor on Narcotic Prosecution, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

 Faculty Advisor and Lecturer National College of District Attorneys (NEDA)

 Past President Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association

 Past President Arkansas City Attorneys Assocation

 Past Chairman of the Municipal Operations Section of the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA)

 Current Chairman of the Transportation and Public Facilities Section of IMLA

 Member of the American Trial Lawyers Association

 Member of the Pulaski County, Arkansas, and American Bar Associations


Civic Involvement

• Little Rock Chamber of Commerce
• Chairman of Chamber of Commerce Little Rock Leadership Institute
• Past member of the Public Safety and Government Relations Committees of Little Rock Chamber of Commerce
• Future Little Rock Task Force Member
• Member Little Rock Land Bank Task Force
• Board Member Heights Neighborhood Association
• Chairman of Kavanaugh Promenade Bond Project
• Past Board Member of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre
• Big Brothers / Big Sisters
• Quapaw Quarter Association President
• Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas President
   

Education
 

Professional
Licensed attorney with thirty-two years of experience. Arkansas Supreme Court Reg. #74319
Licensed to practice before the:
 

Current Employment