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U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Arkansas: Authorized Judgeships

Below are tables showing authorized positions for U.S. district judges, U.S. bankruptcy judges, and U.S. magistrate judges. While district and bankruptcy judgeships are authorized by congressional statute, magistrate judgeships are authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United States. For more detail regarding the authorization of these judgeships, see the Legislative History and Succession Chart(s) pages for each district court (see menu at right), Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships, Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location), and Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year).  

Authorized District Judgeships

  Arkansas
District
Eastern
District
Western
District
Total
Judgeships
June 15, 1836
5 Stat. 50
1     1
March 3, 1851
9 Stat. 594
 

1

1

1

March 3, 1871
16 Stat. 471
 

1

1

2

May 31, 1938
52 Stat. 584
 

2

2

3

May 19, 1961
75 Stat. 80
 

3

3

4

October 20, 1978
92 Stat. 1629
 

5

3

6

July 10, 1984
98 Stat. 333
 

5

4

7

December 1, 1990
104 Stat. 5089
 

5

3

8

 

Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships

  Eastern and Western Districts
July 10, 1984
98 Stat. 336
2
October 27, 1986
100 Stat. 3088
3

 

Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location)

Eastern District
Location Full-Time Part-Time Combination
Blytheville   1 (1971–1974)  
Forrest City   1 (1971–1975)  
Jonesboro   1 (1971–2000)  
Little Rock 1 (1974–1978)
2 (1979–1985)
3 (1986–1990)
4 (1991–2000)
5 (2001–present)
1 (1971–1973) clerk-magistrate
1 (1973–1978)
Pine Bluff   1 (1971–1978)  
West Memphis   1 (1976–1989)  
Total 0 (1971–1973)
1 (1974–1978)
2 (1979–1985)
3 (1986–1990)
4 (1991–2000)
5 (2001–present)
5 (1971–1973)
4 (1974)
3 (1975–1978)
2 (1979–1989)
1 (1990–2000)
0 (2001–present)
0 (1971–1972)
1 (1973–1978)
0 (1979–present)
Western District
Location Full-Time Part-Time
El Dorado   1 (1971–1992)
El Dorado or Hot Springs or Texarkana 1 (1993–present)  
Fayetteville 1 (2010–present) 1 (1971–1979)
Fort Smith 1 (1980–present) 1 (1971–1979)
Harrison   1 (1971–1992)
0 (1993)
1 (1994–2009)
Hot Springs   1 (1971–1992)
Texarkana   1 (1971–1985)
Total 0 (1971–1979)
1 (1980–1992)
2 (1993–2009)
3 (2010–present)
6 (1971–1979)
4 (1980–1985)
3 (1986–1992)
0 (1993)
1 (1994–2009)
0 (2010–present)

 

Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year)

Eastern District
Fiscal Year(s) Full-Time Total Part-Time Total Combination Total
1971–1972   0 Blytheville, Forrest City, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff 5   0
1973   0 Blytheville, Forrest City, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff 5 Little Rock (clerk-magistrate) 1
1974 Little Rock 1 Blytheville, Forrest City, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff 4 Little Rock (clerk-magistrate) 1
1975 Little Rock 1 Forrest City, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff 3 Little Rock (clerk-magistrate) 1
1976–1978 Little Rock 1 Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, West Memphis 3 Little Rock (clerk-magistrate) 1
1979–1985 Little Rock (2) 2 Jonesboro, West Memphis 2   0
1986–1989 Little Rock (3) 3 Jonesboro, West Memphis 2   0
1990 Little Rock (3) 3 Jonesboro 1   0
1991–2000 Little Rock (4) 4 Jonesboro 1   0
2001–present Little Rock (5) 5   0   0
Western District
Fiscal Year(s) Full-Time Total Part-Time Total
1971–1979   0 El Dorado, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Harrison, Hot Springs, Texarkana 6
1980–1985 Fort Smith 1 El Dorado, Harrison, Hot Springs, Texarkana 4
1986–1992 Fort Smith 1 El Dorado, Harrison, Hot Springs 3
1993 El Dorado or Hot Springs or Texarkana, Fort Smith 2   0
1994–2009 El Dorado or Hot Springs or Texarkana, Fort Smith 2 Harrison 1
2010–present El Dorado or Hot Springs or Texarkana, Fayetteville, Fort Smith 3   0

 

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