Holmes confirmed as new federal judge

P.K. Holmes III, a Fort Smith attorney who was first recommended for a federal judgeship in December 2009, was confirmed Monday (Feb. 7) by the U.S. Senate to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Boozman, R-Ark., made the announcement in a joint press release.

“P.K. has all the tools to be a great judge, and I’m pleased my Senate colleagues saw those qualities in him as well,” Pryor said in a statement. “I know his commitment to a fair, impartial justice system will serve Arkansas’s Western District well.”

“Judge Holmes is a well-respected man of integrity who will do an outstanding job serving the people of Arkansas in this role,” Boozman said. “His confirmation highlights the need for us to move forward on well-qualified judicial nominees to eliminate the backlog in federal cases.”

Holmes was recommended in early December 2009 by U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., for the judgeship.

Holmes has served as a partner at Warner, Smith & Harris in Fort Smith, and was the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas from 1993-2001. According to the Warner, Smith & Harris Web site, Holmes primary legal work has been in commercial litigation and white collar crime. He has handled civil appeals before the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Arkansas Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dawson is expected to take senior status when Holmes takes the bench. Judge Dawson, who was nominated by Pres. Bill Clinton, began his federal judgeship in April 1998, and has heard more than 4,000 cases, including cases while serving as a federal judge in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

Holmes is a 1973 graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.,, and received his juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1978.