U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
Arkansas · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Eighth Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Eighth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Robert Toombs Dawson (current) · Paul Kinloch Holmes III (current) · David Clay Wilkerson Fowlkes (current) · Susan Owens Hickey (current) · John Thomas Shepherd (current) · Jimm Larry Hendren (current) · Timothy Lloyd Brooks (current) · John Elvis Miller · Oren Harris · Harry Jacob Lemley
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Harry F. Barnes | Clinton (D) | 1993–2019 |
| Susan Webber Wright | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1990–1990 |
| Morris Sheppard Arnold | Reagan (R) | 1985–1992 |
| Hugh Franklin Waters | Reagan (R) | 1981–2002 |
| George Howard Jr. | Carter (D) | 1980–1990 |
| Richard Sheppard Arnold | Carter (D) | 1978–1980 |
| Elsijane Trimble Roy | Carter (D) | 1977–1990 |
| Terry Lee Shell | Ford (R) | 1975–1978 |
| Paul X Williams | L.B. Johnson (D) | 1967–1994 |
| Oren Harris | L.B. Johnson (D) | 1965–1997 |
| Jesse Smith Henley | Eisenhower (R) | 1959–1975 |
| John Elvis Miller | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1941–1981 |
| Harry Jacob Lemley | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1939–1965 |
| Heartsill Ragon | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1933–1940 |
| Frank A. Youmans | Taft (R) | 1911–1932 |
| John Henry Rogers | Cleveland (D) | 1896–1911 |
| Isaac Charles Parker | Grant (R) | 1875–1896 |
| William Story | Grant (R) | 1871–1874 |
| Henry Clay Caldwell | Lincoln (R) | 1864–1871 |
| Daniel Ringo | Reassigned | 1851–1861 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Mark Ford | 2015–present |
| Erin L. Setser | 2009–present |
| Erin Wiedemann | 2009–present |
| Barry A. Bryant | 2007–present |
| James R. Marschewski | 2007–present |
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1851. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.