United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (W.D. Ark.)
Appeals to	Eighth Circuit
Established	March 3, 1851
Judges assigned	3
Chief judge	Jimm Larry Hendren
Official site

The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (in case citations, W.D. Ark.) is a United States District Court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clarke, Columbia, Crawford, Franklin, Garland, Hempstead, Hot Springs, Howard, Johnson, Lafayette, Little River, Logan, Madison, Marion, Miller, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Union, and Washington.

Appeals from the Western District of Arkansas are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for 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).

The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is Jimm Larry Hendren.

The current United States Marshal for the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is Richard James O'Connell. On Wednesday, June 9, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Harold Michael Oglesby to the Senate to succeed Marshal O'Connell as United States Marshal for the Western District of Arkansas.

History

Federal courthouse in Texarkana, straddling the Arkansas/Texas border.

Closer view of the federal courthouse in Texarkana.

Arkansas was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, and became part of the Territory of Missouri in 1812, when Louisiana became a state. When Missouri became a state in 1819, a territorial government, including a territorial court, was organized for Arkansas, taking effect on July 4, 1819. The United States District Court for the District of Arkansas was established with a single judge when Arkansas became a state, on June 15, 1836, by 5 Stat. 50, 51. The court was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1851, by 9 Stat. 594.

The court's headquarters and one of its divisions is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Famous "hanging judge" Isaac Parker presided over this court in Fort Smith; the former barracks that served as his courthouse and jail is now part of Fort Smith National Historic Site. The court presently sits in a nearby Federal office building named after Parker.

Another division of the court in Texarkana, Arkansas shares a courthouse with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the only federal courthouse in the United States to sit in two states.

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
20	Chief Judge	Jimm Larry Hendren	Fayetteville	1940	1992–present	1997–present	—	G.H.W. Bush
23	District Judge	Paul K. Holmes III	Fort Smith	1951	2011–present	—	—	Obama
24	District Judge	Susan Owens Hickey	El Dorado	1955	2011-present	—	—	Obama
21	Senior District Judge	Harry F. Barnes	El Dorado	1932	1993–2008	(none)	2008–present	Clinton
22	Senior District Judge	Robert T. Dawson	Fort Smith	1938	1998–2009	(none)	2009–present	Clinton

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active service	Term as Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Ringo, DanielDaniel Ringo	AR	1803–1873	1851–1861	(none)	(none)	Taylor, Taylor	resignation
2	Caldwell, Henry ClayHenry Clay Caldwell	AR	1832–1915	1864–1871	(none)	(none)	Lincoln, Lincoln	reassignment to E.D. Ark.
3	Story, WilliamWilliam Story	AR	1843–1921	1871–1874	(none)	(none)	Grant, Grant	resignation
4	Parker, IsaacIsaac Parker	AR	1838–1896	1875–1896	(none)	(none)	Grant, Grant	death
5	Rogers, John HenryJohn Henry Rogers	AR	1845–1911	1896–1911	(none)	(none)	Cleveland, Cleveland	death
6	Youmans, Frank A.Frank A. Youmans	AR	1860–1932	1911–1932	(none)	(none)	Taft, Taft	death
7	Ragon, HeartsillHeartsill Ragon	AR	1885–1940	1933–1940	(none)	(none)	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	death
8	Lemley, Harry JacobHarry Jacob Lemley	AR	1883–1965	1939–1958	1948–1958	1958–1965	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	death
9	Miller, John E.John E. Miller	AR	1888–1981	1941–1967	1958–1967	1967–1981	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	death
10	Henley, Jesse SmithJesse Smith Henley	AR	1917–1997	1959–1975	(none)	(none)	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	appointment to 8th Cir.
11	Harris, OrenOren Harris	AR	1903–1997	1965–1976	1967–1973	1976–1997	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
12	Williams, Paul X.Paul X. Williams	AR	1908–1994	1967–1981	1973–1981	1981–1994	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
13	Shell, Terry LeeTerry Lee Shell	AR	1922–1978	1975–1978	(none)	(none)	Ford, Ford	death
14	Roy, Elsijane TrimbleElsijane Trimble Roy	AR	1916–2007	1977–1989	(none)	1989–1990	Carter, Carter	reassignment to E.D. Ark.
15	Arnold, Richard S.Richard S. Arnold	AR	1936–2004	1978–1980	(none)	(none)	Carter, Carter	appointment to 8th Cir.
16	Howard, Jr., GeorgeGeorge Howard, Jr.	AR	1924–2007	1980–1990	(none)	(none)	Carter, Carter	reassignment to E.D. Ark.
17	Waters, Hugh FranklinHugh Franklin Waters	AR	1932–2002	1981–1997	1981–1997	1997–2002	Reagan, Reagan	death
18	Arnold, Morris S.Morris S. Arnold	AR	1941–present	1985–1992	(none)	(none)	Reagan, Reagan	appointment to 8th Cir.
19	Wright, Susan WebberSusan Webber Wright	AR	1948–present	1990	(none)	(none)	Bush, G.H.W.G.H.W. Bush	reassignment to E.D. Ark.

See also

• Courts of Arkansas
• List of United States federal courthouses in Arkansas

External links

• United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Federal District Court of Western Arkansas