LEGAL EXPERIENCE:
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas, 2004-2019. Chief Judge, 2005-2012. Sat by designation on the Eighth Circuit.
Private law practice in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1983-1990, 1992-2004, and 2021-2023. Litigated a broad range of civil cases, including but not limited to personal injury, premises liability, products liability, defamation, breach of contract, eminent domain, employment discrimination, insurance coverage, common-law fraud, securities fraud, and antitrust.
Law Clerk for the Honorable Frank Holt, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1982-1983.
Appointed Special Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas on three occasions.
LEGAL EDUCATION:
J.D., University of Arkansas (1982). Ranked first in graduating class. Participated in American Bar Association Law Student Division moot court competition, selected to represent the University of Arkansas in regional competition on a team that won first place in Region 8 and tenth place in the national competition.
40-Hour Civil Trial Court Mediation Training (2023).
GRADUATE EDUCATION:
Ph.D., Duke University, Political Science (1980). Areas of concentration were Political Philosophy, Public Law, American Government, and Comparative Government. Dissertation topic was the political thought of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Shell Award for outstanding graduate work. Phi Beta Kappa.
M.A., Northern Illinois, University, Political Science (1976). Areas of concentration were Political Philosophy and Public Law.
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
B.A., Arkansas State University, Political Science (1973). Graduated with special distinction. Outstanding Political Science Student Award (1973).
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:
Tutor, Thomas Aquinas College, 1990-1992. Taught Freshman Theology, a year-long course of reading the Bible; Freshman Laboratory Science, a course with a variety of readings, mostly in biology; and Junior Seminar, a year-long course studying literature and philosophy from the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Descartes, Pascal, Shakespeare, Milton, Cervantes, Swift, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Lincoln/Douglas debates.
Associate Professor of Political Science, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, 1979-1981. Taught American Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties, The American Presidency, American Public Administration, and a seminar on the Lincoln/Douglas debates.
LEGAL PUBLICATIONS:
“We Hold Three Truths: A Constitution Day Cerebration,” The Arkansas Lawyer (Summer 2021).
“Doing Discovery Right,” Judicature (Summer 2015).
“Ethics, Legal Ethics, and the Classical Tradition,” Arkansas Law Review Vol. 67, No. 2 (2014).
“On What It Means to be a Lawyer of Faith,” UALR Law Review, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Winter 2009).
“Pitfalls of the Appellate Practice: Avoiding the Serbonian Bog,” The Arkansas Lawyer (Summer 2000).
Editorial Board Chairman, Handling Appeals in Arkansas (Arkansas Bar Association: 1998).
“Civil Liability of Bank Directors,” The Arkansas Community Banker (Winter 1997).
AWARDS:
Saint Thomas More Award, The Saint Thomas More Society of Arkansas (2019).
Sidney S. McMath Award for Integrity, Honor, Civility, and Professionalism, Pulaski County Bar Association (2019).
Federal Judge of the Year, Pulaski County Bar Association (2010, 2012, and 2019).
The Maurice Cathey Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arkansas Lawyer Magazine (2004).
Best of CLE, Arkansas Bar Association (1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002).