Richard Sheppard Arnold
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and confirmed by voice vote, Richard Sheppard Arnold was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1960. 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
- 1936–2004
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1980
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Yale 1957 · Harvard Law School 1960
- Succeeded by
- Lavenski R. Smith
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Eastern District of Arkansas succeeded Terry Lee Shell | Carter (D) | Voice vote |
| 1978 | Western District of Arkansas succeeded Terry Lee Shell | Carter (D) | Voice vote |
| 1980 | Eighth Circuit | Carter (D) | 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
| Yale University | B.A. | 1957 |
| Harvard Law School | LL.B. | 1960 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Arnold authored 34 published opinions for the court (1978–1987). Most cited: Equifax, Inc. v. Luster (26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Equifax, Inc. v. Luster | 463 F. Supp. 352 | 26 |
| 1980 | Taylor v. Jones | 495 F. Supp. 1285 | 16 |
| 1979 | Rogers v. Britton | 476 F. Supp. 1036 | 13 |
| 1978 | In Re Hart | 461 F. Supp. 328 | 13 |
| 1980 | Stanhope v. Ford Motor Credit Co., Inc. | 483 F. Supp. 275 | 11 |
| 1987 | Giroir v. Mbank Dallas, N.A. | 676 F. Supp. 915 | 10 |
| 1980 | Phifer v. Union Carbide Corp. | 492 F. Supp. 483 | 10 |
| 1980 | Campbell v. Ramsay | 484 F. Supp. 190 | 9 |
| 1979 | Dodson v. Arkansas Activities Ass'n | 468 F. Supp. 394 | 9 |
| 1978 | Porter v. Gaston | 462 F. Supp. 370 | 9 |
| 1980 | Newton v. Kroger Co. | 501 F. Supp. 177 | 8 |
| 1979 | Taylor v. Teletype Corp. | 475 F. Supp. 958 | 8 |
| 1981 | Hansen v. Harris | 507 F. Supp. 900 | 7 |
| 1981 | Vaughn v. Westinghouse Electric Corp. | 526 F. Supp. 1165 | 6 |
| 1980 | Taylor v. Jones | 489 F. Supp. 498 | 6 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 34 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 Richard Sheppard Arnold?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Richard Sheppard Arnold to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1980.
- Was Richard Sheppard Arnold appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Richard Sheppard Arnold was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Richard Sheppard Arnold's confirmation vote?
- Richard Sheppard Arnold was confirmed by voice vote on February 20, 1980. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Richard Sheppard Arnold on?
- Richard Sheppard Arnold 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
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (The Third Branch newsletter) (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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24 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).