The Historical Society of the United States Courts in the Eighth Circuit |
Biographical Brochure The Honorable Morris Sheppard Arnold was born in Texarkana, Texas, on October 8, 1941, into a family steeped in a tradition of the law. Lawyers and judges line both sides of his family tree for several generations. He, however, began as an electrical engineer before "caving into his genes," as he has put it, by entering the University of Arkansas School of Law. The rest is history, as his storied career as an educator, legal scholar and historian, attorney, and federal judge has unfolded. He served as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas for seven years from 1985 until 1992, when he was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He assumed senior status on the Court of Appeals on October 9, 2006, and retired on September 1, 2013. In 2008, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court designated him to sit on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review until 2015. He returned to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in January 2016. A highly regarded legal scholar and historian, Judge Arnold is the author of books, articles, book reviews, and speeches, mostly on the subjects of English legal history and colonial Arkansas. To read about Judge Arnold’s varied and distinguished career and see a list of his published books, click here. |