Paul Kinloch Holmes III
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and confirmed by the Senate 95–0, Paul Kinloch Holmes III is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1978. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1951 · age 75
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2011
- Confirmed
- 95–0
- Education
- Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri 1973 · University of Arkansas Law 1978
- Succeeded
- Robert Toombs Dawson
- Succeeded by
- David Clay Wilkerson Fowlkes
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Western District of Arkansas succeeded Robert Toombs Dawson | Obama (D) | 95–0 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 95–0 on February 7, 2011 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 13. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 95
48 D, 46 R, 1 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 5
3 D, 1 R, 1 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
Education
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Holmes was assigned 1,707 district-court cases (2002–2024). Median time from filing to termination: 240 days across 1,706 closed cases.
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 157 of Holmes’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 128 were affirmed, 25 reversed or vacated, and 4 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 1 published opinion for the court (2010). Most cited: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. v. General Electric Co. (6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. v. General Electric Co. | 720 F. Supp. 2d 1061 | 6 |
Showing the 1 most-cited of 1 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 Paul Kinloch Holmes III?
- President Barack Obama appointed Paul Kinloch Holmes III to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in 2011.
- Was Paul Kinloch Holmes III appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Paul Kinloch Holmes III was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Paul Kinloch Holmes III's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Paul Kinloch Holmes III 95–0 on February 7, 2011.
- Which court is Paul Kinloch Holmes III on?
- Paul Kinloch Holmes III is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2011)
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
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 Western District of Arkansas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).