# 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).
The District was established on March 3, 1851, with the division of the state into an Eastern and Western district.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of November 17, 2021 the United States attorney is Jonathan D. Ross.

## Organization

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas is one of two federal judicial districts in Arkansas. 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 December 18, 2023:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 25 | Chief Judge | Kristine Baker | Little Rock | 1971 | 2012–present | 2023–present | — | Obama |
| 23 | District Judge | Brian S. Miller | Little Rock | 1967 | 2008–present | 2012–2019 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 24 | District Judge | D. Price Marshall Jr. | Little Rock | 1963 | 2010–present | 2019–2023 | — | Obama |
| 26 | District Judge | James M. 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 | Little Rock | 1939 | 1993–2008 | — | 2008–present | Clinton |
* ↑ In 1990, Judge Wright was jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
* ↑ 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 | — | — | Taylor/Operation of law | resignation |
| 2 | Henry Clay Caldwell | AR | 1832–1915 | 1864–1890 | — | — | 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 | — | — | 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 | — | 1958–1965 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 8 | J. Smith Henley | AR | 1917–1997 | 1958–1959 | — | — | Eisenhower | appointed to other seat |
| 8.1 | J. Smith Henley | AR | 1917–1997 | 1959–1975 | 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 Shell | AR | 1922–1978 | 1975–1978 | — | — | Ford | death |
| 13 | Elsijane Trimble Roy | AR | 1916–2007 | 1977–1989 | — | 1989–2007 | 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 | — | — | 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.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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

Seat 1 :
| Seat reassigned from District of Arkansas on March 3, 1851 by 9 Stat. 594 (concurrent with Western District) ||||
| Ringo | 1851–1861 |
| Seat reassigned solely to the Eastern District on March 3, 1871 by 16 Stat. 471 ||||
| Caldwell | 1864–1890 |
| Williams | 1890–1900 |
| Trieber | 1901–1927 |
| Martineau | 1928–1937 |
| Trimble III | 1937–1957 |
| Henley | 1958–1959 |
| Young | 1959–1969 |
| Eisele | 1970–1991 |
| Wilson | 1993–2008 |
| Marshall, Jr. | 2010–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584 (concurrent with Western District) ||||
| Lemley | 1939–1958 |
| Henley | 1959–1975 |
| Shell | 1975–1978 |
| Arnold | 1978–1980 |
| Seat reassigned solely to Eastern District on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Howard, Jr. | 1980–2007 |
| Miller | 2008–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 (concurrent with Western District) ||||
| Harris | 1965–1976 |
| Roy | 1977–1989 |
| Seat reassigned solely to Eastern District on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Wright | 1990–2013 |
| Moody, Jr. | 2014–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Overton | 1979–1987 |
| Reasoner | 1988–2002 |
| Holmes | 2004–2018 |
| Rudofsky | 2019–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Woods | 1980–1995 |
| Moody | 1995–2008 |
| Baker | 2012–present |

## United States attorneys

Recent former US Attorneys for the district
* Timothy Griffin
* Bud Cummins
* Chris Thyer