After 18 months, the Biden Administration has yet to nominate a federal judge to fill a judicial vacancy in Arkansas.
U.S. District Judge Paul Holmes, III, of Fort Smith took Senior Status effective November 10, 2021.
Senior Status is a form of semiretirement for federal judges. It means the president will need to nominate a new judge to fill the position full time.
There are currently some 80 judicial vacancy in America, with many nominees pending before congress.
As of last week, President Biden has not nominated anyone to fill Judge Holmes’ position in the Western District of Arkansas.
U.S. District Court nominations rarely receive very much attention, but they are critical judicial positions.
When a state law is challenged in federal court, district judges are the first to hear the case. Right now many of the district judges in Arkansas — including U.S. District Judges Paul Holmes, James Moody, and Kristine Baker — are Obama appointees.
Because our district courts lean to the left, Arkansas often loses court cases over abortion and other social issues at the lower level, but we get better rulings from the more conservative judges on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
At this point, it is unclear when — or if — President Biden will nominate a U.S. District Judge for Arkansas’ Western District.
Family Council intends to continue monitoring the judicial nomination and confirmation process.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
