In 1970 Hendren became a United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander, a position he would hold until 1983.
Meanwhile, in 1977, he became a probate judge (Chancellor) of Arkansas' Sixteenth Chancery District, before returning again to his private practice.
[1] As of 2020, he is the last judge appointed to the Western District of Arkansas by a Republican president.
The court decided that the local school's rule requiring parents' written consent to read the Harry Potter books was unconstitutional.
[2] The district court's opinion can be found here, and the decision was cited as precedent in subsequent censorship cases.