United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas | |
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(E.D. Ark.) | |
Location | Richard Sheppard Arnold U.S. Post Office and Courthouse |
Appeals to | Eighth Circuit |
Established | March 3, 1851 |
Judges | 5 |
Chief Judge | D. Price Marshall Jr. |
Officers of the court | |
U.S. Attorney | J. Cody Hiland |
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The District was established on March 3, 1851, with the division of the state into an Eastern and Western district.[1]
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is J. Cody Hiland.
Organization of the court
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas is one of two federal judicial districts in Arkansas.[2] Court for the District is held at Helena, Jonesboro, and Little Rock.
Central Division comprises the following counties: Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Dallas, Drew, Faulkner, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Stone, Van Buren, White, and Yell.
Delta Division comprises the following counties: Arkansas, Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, and St. Francis.
Northern Division comprises the following counties: Clay, Craighead, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, Sharp, and Woodruff.
Current judges
As of February 5, 2020:
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
24 | Chief Judge | D. Price Marshall Jr. | Little Rock | 1963 | 2010–present | 2019–present | — | Obama |
23 | District Judge | Brian Stacy Miller | Little Rock | 1967 | 2008–present | 2012–2019 | — | G.W. Bush |
25 | District Judge | Kristine G. Baker | Little Rock | 1971 | 2012–present | — | — | Obama |
26 | District Judge | James Maxwell Moody Jr. | Little Rock | 1964 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
27 | District Judge | Lee Rudofsky | Little Rock | 1979 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
19 | Senior Judge | Susan Webber Wright | Little Rock | 1948 | 1990–2013 | 1998–2005 | 2013–present | G.H.W. Bush |
20 | Senior Judge | Billy Roy Wilson[Note 1] | Little Rock | 1939 | 1993–2008 | — | 2008–present | Clinton |
- Appointed as William Roy Wilson Jr.; name changed in 2011.
Former judges
# | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daniel Ringo | AR | 1803–1873 | 1851–1861[Note 1][Note 2] | — | — | Taylor/Operation of law | resignation |
2 | Henry Clay Caldwell | AR | 1832–1915 | 1864–1890[Note 3] | — | — | Lincoln | elevation to 8th Cir. |
3 | John A. Williams | AR | 1835–1900 | 1890–1900 | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
4 | Jacob Trieber | AR | 1853–1927 | 1900–1927[Note 4] | — | — | McKinley | death |
5 | John Ellis Martineau | AR | 1873–1937 | 1928–1937 | — | — | Coolidge | death |
6 | Thomas Clark Trimble III | AR | 1878–1965 | 1937–1957 | 1948–1957 | 1957–1965 | F. Roosevelt | death |
7 | Harry Jacob Lemley | AR | 1883–1965 | 1939–1958[Note 2] | — | 1958–1965 | F. Roosevelt | death |
8 | Jesse Smith Henley | AR | 1917–1997 | 1958–1975[Note 5] | 1959–1975 | — | Eisenhower | elevation to 8th Cir. |
9 | Gordon Elmo Young | AR | 1907–1969 | 1959–1969 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
10 | Oren Harris | AR | 1903–1997 | 1965–1976 | — | 1976–1997 | L. Johnson | death |
11 | Garnett Thomas Eisele | AR | 1923–2017 | 1970–1991 | 1975–1991 | 1991–2017 | Nixon | death |
12 | Terry Lee Shell | AR | 1922–1978 | 1975–1978[Note 2] | — | — | Ford | death |
13 | Elsijane Trimble Roy | AR | 1916–2007 | 1977–1989[Note 2] | — | 1989–2007[Note 6] | Carter | death |
14 | Richard S. Arnold | AR | 1936–2004 | 1978–1980 | — | — | Carter | elevation to 8th Cir. |
15 | William Overton | AR | 1939–1987 | 1979–1987 | — | — | Carter | death |
16 | Henry Woods | AR | 1918–2002 | 1980–1995 | — | 1995–2002 | Carter | death |
17 | George Howard Jr. | AR | 1924–2007 | 1980–2007[Note 7] | — | — | Carter | death |
18 | Stephen M. Reasoner | AR | 1944–2004 | 1988–2002 | 1991–1998 | 2002–2004 | Reagan | death |
21 | James Maxwell Moody | AR | 1940–present | 1995–2008 | — | 2008–2014 | Clinton | retirement |
22 | James Leon Holmes | AR | 1951–present | 2004–2018 | 2005–2012 | 2018–2020 | G.W. Bush | retirement |
- Reassigned from the District of Arkansas.
- Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
- Judge Caldwell was jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas from 1864 to 1871.
- Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 4, 1900, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 1901, and received commission on January 9, 1901.
- Recess appointment; not confirmed by the Senate, but renominated to a different seat on the same court prior to the expiration of the initial appointment.
- From 1989 to 1990, Judge Roy served as a Senior Judge of the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
- From 1980 to 1990, Judge Howard was jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
Chief judges
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seats
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United States Attorneys
Recent former US Attorneys for the district
See also
References
- http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_ar.html U.S. District Courts of Arkansas, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
- 28 U.S.C. § 83