Jesse Smith Henley
Appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and confirmed by voice vote, Jesse Smith Henley was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1941. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1917–1997
- Appointed by
- Gerald Ford, 1975
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Arkansas Law 1941
- Succeeded
- Pat Mehaffy
- Succeeded by
- Pasco Middleton Bowman II
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Eastern District of Arkansas succeeded Thomas Clark Trimble III | Eisenhower (R) | – |
| 1959 | Eastern District of Arkansas succeeded Harry Jacob Lemley | Eisenhower (R) | Voice vote |
| 1959 | Western District of Arkansas succeeded Harry Jacob Lemley | Eisenhower (R) | Voice vote |
| 1975 | Eighth Circuit succeeded Pat Mehaffy | Ford (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Arkansas School of Law | LL.B. | 1941 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Henley authored 108 published opinions for the court (1960–1994). Most cited: Holt v. Sarver (230 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Holt v. Sarver | 309 F. Supp. 362 | 230 |
| 1969 | Holt v. Sarver | 300 F. Supp. 825 | 78 |
| 1976 | Finney v. Hutto | 410 F. Supp. 251 | 77 |
| 1965 | Talley v. Stephens | 247 F. Supp. 683 | 73 |
| 1971 | Rhoads v. Service MacHine Company | 329 F. Supp. 367 | 47 |
| 1973 | Holt v. Hutto | 363 F. Supp. 194 | 43 |
| 1968 | National Surety Corporation v. Inland Properties, Inc. | 286 F. Supp. 173 | 38 |
| 1964 | Texas National Bank of Houston v. Aufderheide | 235 F. Supp. 599 | 29 |
| 1968 | Norton v. Blaylock | 285 F. Supp. 659 | 28 |
| 1967 | United States v. Thompson | 272 F. Supp. 774 | 26 |
| 1961 | Bruner v. Republic Acceptance Corporation | 191 F. Supp. 200 | 25 |
| 1965 | Great American Insurance Company v. Ratliff | 242 F. Supp. 983 | 24 |
| 1963 | Wirtz v. Robert E. Bob Adair, Inc. | 224 F. Supp. 750 | 24 |
| 1968 | Childers v. Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. | 282 F. Supp. 866 | 22 |
| 1961 | United States v. Lehigh | 201 F. Supp. 224 | 22 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 108 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 Jesse Smith Henley?
- President Gerald Ford appointed Jesse Smith Henley to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1975.
- Was Jesse Smith Henley appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Jesse Smith Henley was appointed by President Gerald Ford, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Jesse Smith Henley's confirmation vote?
- Jesse Smith Henley was confirmed by voice vote on March 13, 1975. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Jesse Smith Henley on?
- Jesse Smith Henley was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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22 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).