United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

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Western District of Arkansas
Eighth Circuit
Arkansas-western.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 3
Judges: 2
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: Susan Hickey
Active judges:
Timothy Brooks, Susan Hickey

Senior judges:
Robert Dawson, Jimm Hendren, Paul K. Holmes


The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is one of 94 United States district courts. It is further subdivided into six divisions. The district has courthouses in El Dorado, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Harrison, Hot Springs, and Texarkana. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, out of the court's three judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Susan Hickey

Barack Obama (D)

October 19, 2011 -

University of Arkansas, 1977

University of Arkansas Law, 1981

Timothy Brooks

Barack Obama (D)

March 7, 2014 -

University of Arkansas, 1986

University of Arkansas School of Law, 1989


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 2
  • Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Robert Dawson

Bill Clinton (D)

August 14, 2009 -

University of Arkansas, 1960

University of Arkansas School of Law, 1965

Jimm Hendren

George H.W. Bush (R)

December 31, 2012 -

University of Arkansas, 1964

University of Arkansas School of Law, 1965

Paul K. Holmes

Barack Obama (D)

November 10, 2021 -

Westminster College, 1973

University of Arkansas School of Law, 1978


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 2
  • Republican appointed: 1

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Barry Bryant

February 19, 2007 -

Henderson State University, 1982

University of Arkansas, Little Rock, 1988

Mark E. Ford

November 5, 2014 -

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1982

University of Arkansas, 1985

Christy Comstock

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

May 1, 2021 -


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information about the judges of the Western District of Arkansas, see former federal judges of the Western District of Arkansas.

Jurisdiction

Western District of Arkansas counties(click for larger map)

The Western District of Arkansas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are six court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The El Dorado Division, covering Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties.

The Fayetteville Division, covering Benton, Madison and Washington counties.

The Fort Smith Division, covering Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott and Sebastian counties.

The Harrison Division, covering Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties.

The Hot Springs Division, covering Clark, Garland, Hot Spring, Montgomery and Pike counties.

The Texarkana Division, covering Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada and Sevier counties.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,368 1,214 1,317 3 24 456 11 7 12 28 3
2011 1,343 1,347 1,268 3 11 448 11 7 12 21 2
2012 1,568 1,479 1,465 3 0 523 16 8 12 20 2
2013 1,561 1,452 1,572 3 12 520 13 8 12 25 2
2014 1,516 1,545 1,536 3 2 505 14 10 13 22 2
2015 1,364 1,434 1,465 3 0 455 15 8 12 29 3
2016 1,431 1,366 1,517 3 0 477 12 9 12 26 2
2017 1,249 1,523 1,243 3 0 416 15 11 12 21 2
2018 1,300 1,369 1,174 3 0 433 10 9 11 19 2
2019 1,287 1,330 1,127 3 0 429 11 8 11 17 3
2020 1,175 1,124 1,169 3 0 392 4 9 10 15 2
2021 1,101 1,128 1,138 3 0 367 7 10 10 25 3
2022 1,164 1,198 1,109 3 12 388 12 10 12 22 3
2023 1,075 1,103 1,078 3 6 358 10 11 10 31 5
Average 1,322 1,329 1,298 3 5 441 12 9 12 23 3

History

The District of Arkansas was organized by Congress on June 15, 1836 with one post to cover the entire state. The district court in Arkansas was not yet assigned to a judicial circuit, and thus had the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.

On March 3, 1851, statute 5 Stat. 176, 177 divided the federal judiciary into nine circuits. This act assigned the district of Arkansas over to the Ninth Circuit,and repealed the district court of Arkansas' right to exercise the trial jurisdiction of a United States circuit court. The act established annual sessions of the U.S. circuit court in the district of Arkansas. Statute 5 Stat. 680 on June 17, 1844, extended the jurisdiction of the district of Arkansas over Indian territory previously annexed to the Territory of Arkansas.

Statute 9 Stat. 594 on March 3, 1851, divided the State of Arkansas into two judicial districts, known as the Eastern and the Western, with one judgeship serving both. The Indian territory was under the jurisdiction of the Western District of Arkansas, while the Eastern District remained in the Ninth Circuit and the Western District of Arkansas was granted that same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts.

On July 23, 1866, Congress assigned Arkansas to the Sixth Circuit, and then to the Eighth Circuit by July 15, 1862. After this, a judgeship was authorized to the Western District on March 3, 1871, and the judgeship previously assigned to serve both districts was made into a judgeship for the Eastern District only.

In 1889, the U.S. circuit court for the Western District of Arkansas was established by statute.

Over time two additional judicial posts were added for a total of three posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of Arkansas:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
June 15, 1836 5 Stat. 50, 51 1
March 3, 1851 9 Stat. 594 1
March 3, 1871 16 Stat. 471 2
May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584 3
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 4
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 4 (1 temporary)
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 3

Federal courthouse

Five separate courthouses serve the Western District of Arkansas:[8]

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. District Court - NH, "Magistrate Judges," archived April 14, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary," accessed April 26, 2021
  8. ↑ United States District Court Western District of Arkansas, "Court Locations," accessed May 5, 2021
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
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