Who appointed Terry Lee Shell?

President Gerald Ford appointed Terry Lee Shell to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 1975.

Was Terry Lee Shell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Terry Lee Shell was appointed by President Gerald Ford, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Terry Lee Shell's confirmation vote?

Terry Lee Shell was confirmed by voice vote on September 15, 1975. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Eastern District of Arkansas / Appointed 1975 / Served to 1978

Terry Lee Shell

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

Appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and confirmed by voice vote, Terry Lee Shell 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 1949. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1922–1978
Appointed by: Gerald Ford, 1975
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: Arkansas State 1946 · University of Arkansas Law 1949
Succeeded: Jesse Smith Henley
Succeeded by: Richard Sheppard Arnold

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1975	Eastern District of Arkansas succeeded Jesse Smith Henley	Ford (R)	Voice vote
1975	Western District of Arkansas succeeded Jesse Smith Henley	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

Arkansas State University	B.S.E.	1946
University of Arkansas School of Law	LL.B.	1949

Judicial Record

In our data, Shell authored 3 published opinions for the court (1977). Most cited: United States v. Hastings (10 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1977	United States v. Hastings	447 F. Supp. 534	10
1977	Simpson v. Weeks	530 F. Supp. 196	3
1977	United States v. Price	441 F. Supp. 814	0

Showing the 3 most-cited of 3 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 Terry Lee Shell?: President Gerald Ford appointed Terry Lee Shell to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 1975.
Was Terry Lee Shell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Terry Lee Shell was appointed by President Gerald Ford, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Terry Lee Shell's confirmation vote?: Terry Lee Shell was confirmed by voice vote on September 15, 1975. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Terry Lee Shell on?: Terry Lee Shell 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

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2 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).