Who appointed James Leon Holmes?

President George W. Bush appointed James Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 2004.

Was James Leon Holmes appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

James Leon Holmes was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was James Leon Holmes's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed James Leon Holmes 51–46 on July 6, 2004.

Eastern District of Arkansas / Appointed 2004 / Served to 2020

James Leon Holmes

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas

Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2004 and confirmed by the Senate 51–46, James Leon Holmes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1982. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Born: 1951 · age 75
Appointed by: George W. Bush, 2004
Confirmed: 51–46
Education: Arkansas State 1973 · University of Arkansas Law 1982
Succeeded: Stephen M. Reasoner
Succeeded by: Lee Philip Rudofsky

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2004	Eastern District of Arkansas succeeded Stephen M. Reasoner	G.W. Bush (R)	51–46

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 51–46 on July 6, 2004 · 108th Congress, Roll Call 153. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 51

6 D, 45 R

Voted against · 46

40 D, 5 R, 1 I

Did not vote · 3

2 D, 1 R

Education

Arkansas State University	B.A.	1973
Northern Illinois University	M.A.	1976
Duke University	Ph.D.	1979
University of Arkansas School of Law	J.D.	1982

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Holmes was assigned 1,551 district-court cases (1991–2019). Median time from filing to termination: 191 days across 1,550 closed cases.

Prisoner & habeas29%

Civil rights18%

Personal-injury torts12%

Contract9%

Labor & ERISA8%

Other federal statutes7%

Other17%

Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.

On appeal

Of 373 of Holmes’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 333 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 19 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.

In our data, Holmes authored 63 published opinions for the court (2004–2012). Most cited: Helmert v. Butterball, LLC (23 citations).

A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Recent & notable rulings

Year	Case	Citation	Cited
2011	Helmert v. Butterball, LLC	805 F. Supp. 2d 655	23
2006	Sobba Ex Rel. Sobel Inc. v. Elmen	462 F. Supp. 2d 944	12
2006	Schipp Ex Rel. Estate of Neufelder v. General Motors Corp.	457 F. Supp. 2d 917	12
2007	Brown v. Truck Connections International, Inc.	526 F. Supp. 2d 920	11
2005	Weekley v. Guidant Corp.	392 F. Supp. 2d 1066	11
2010	Jones v. Hobbs	745 F. Supp. 2d 886	9
2006	Hamby v. Clearwater Consulting Concepts, LLLP	428 F. Supp. 2d 915	9
2009	Sentell v. RPM Management Company, Inc.	653 F. Supp. 2d 917	8
2008	Toller v. SAGAMORE INSURANCE COMPANY	558 F. Supp. 2d 924	8
2010	Hall v. Equity National Life Insurance	730 F. Supp. 2d 936	6
2008	Little Rock Cardiology Clinic, P.A. v. Baptist Health	573 F. Supp. 2d 1125	6
2005	Patton v. TPI Petroleum, Inc.	356 F. Supp. 2d 921	6
2004	Pine Bluff National Bank v. St. Paul Mercury Insurance	346 F. Supp. 2d 1020	6
2005	Collier v. Norris	402 F. Supp. 2d 1026	5
2004	Graham v. Bryce Corp.	348 F. Supp. 2d 1038	5

Showing the 15 most-cited of 63 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.

Questions & answers

Who appointed James Leon Holmes?: President George W. Bush appointed James Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 2004.
Was James Leon Holmes appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: James Leon Holmes was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was James Leon Holmes's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed James Leon Holmes 51–46 on July 6, 2004.
Which court was James Leon Holmes on?: James Leon Holmes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.

15 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).