J. Smith Henley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesse Smith Henley
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
In office
May 31, 1982 – October 18, 1997
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
In office
March 14, 1975 – May 31, 1982
Appointed byGerald Ford
Preceded byPat Mehaffy
Succeeded byPasco Bowman II
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
In office
1959–1975
Preceded byThomas Clark Trimble III
Succeeded byGarnett Thomas Eisele
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
In office
September 8, 1959 – March 24, 1975
Appointed byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byHarry Jacob Lemley
Succeeded byTerry Lee Shell
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
In office
October 25, 1958 – September 8, 1959
Appointed byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byThomas Clark Trimble III
Succeeded byGordon Elmo Young
Personal details
Born
Jesse Smith Henley

(1917-05-18)May 18, 1917
Saint Joe, Arkansas
DiedOctober 18, 1997(1997-10-18) (aged 80)
Harrison, Arkansas
Resting placeHenley Cemetery
Saint Joe, Arkansas
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Arkansas School of Law (LLB)

Jesse Smith Henley (May 18, 1917 – October 18, 1997) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Education and career[]

Henley was born in Saint Joe in Searcy County in northern Arkansas to Benjamin Harrison Henley and the former Jessie Genoa Willis Smith. In 1941, Henley received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville. He was in private practice in Fayetteville from 1941 to 1954. From 1943 to 1945, he was a clerk and a Referee in Bankruptcy for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1954, he became an associate general counsel in the Federal Communications Commission. In 1956, he was named a director in the Office of Administrative Procedure of the United States Department of Justice.[1]

Federal judicial service[]

With the retirement of Judge Thomas Clark Trimble III, the Arkansas Republican Party State Committee recommended Osro Cobb, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas as Trimble's successor. Trimble had sworn in Cobb as United States Attorney in 1954. A former Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Cobb carried the support of Democratic United States Senators John Little McClellan and J. William Fulbright. Attorney General of the United States Herbert Brownell Jr., had also promised to support Cobb for the judicial opening. The Little Rock Integration Crisis, however, ensued, and Cobb continued as United States Attorney during the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. Brownell, meanwhile, resigned and was replaced by William P. Rogers. Cobb later said that his oil investments began to multiply and paid far more than he would have earned as a federal judge had he gotten the appointment that he sought.[2]

Henley received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 25, 1958, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas vacated by Judge Thomas Clark Trimble III. He was nominated to the same seat on January 17, 1959. His service was terminated on September 8, 1959, due to appointment to a different judicial seat, never having been confirmed by the United States Senate for Judge Trimble's seat. His service would have otherwise terminated on September 11, 1959, due to the pending adjournment of the Senate.[1]

Henley was nominated by President Eisenhower on August 18, 1959, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas vacated by Judge Harry Jacob Lemley. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 2, 1959, and received his commission on September 8, 1959. He served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 1959 to 1975. His service was terminated on March 24, 1975, due to his elevation to the Eighth Circuit.[1]

Henley was nominated by President Gerald Ford on January 28, 1975, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Pat Mehaffy. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 13, 1975, and received his commission on March 14, 1975. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1982. His service was terminated on October 18, 1997, due to his death in Harrison, Arkansas.[1]

Honor[]

The in Harrison is named in Henley's honor.

Older brother[]

Henley's older brother, Benjamin Charles Henley, was a lawyer from Harrison who served as a chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party from 1955 to 1962.[3] In 1956, as his party's unsuccessful nominee for the U.S. Senate against J. William Fulbright, Ben Henley finished with 17 percent of the vote, well behind his party's presidential nominee, Dwight Eisenhower, who still lost Arkansas in the second race against Adlai Stevenson II of Illinois.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Jesse Smith Henley at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ Osro Cobb, Osro Cobb of Arkansas: Memoirs of Historical Significance, Carol Griffee, ed. (Little Rock, Arkansas: Rose Publishing Company, 1989), pp. 135-136.
  3. ^ Cathy Kunzinger Urwin, Agenda for Reform: Winthrop Rockefeller As Governor of Arkansas, 1967-71, p. 37. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. Retrieved August 19, 2012.

Sources[]

Legal offices
Preceded by
Thomas Clark Trimble III
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
1958–1959
Succeeded by
Gordon Elmo Young
Preceded by
Harry J. Lemley
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

1959–1975
Succeeded by
Terry Lee Shell
Preceded by
Thomas Clark Trimble III
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
1959–1975
Succeeded by
Garnett Thomas Eisele
Preceded by
Pat Mehaffy
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
1975–1982
Succeeded by
Pasco Bowman II
Retrieved from ""