Shepherd nominated for federal judge in the Western District of Arkansas
by January 7, 2026 4:27 pm 627 views
John Thomas Shepherd has been nominated to be a federal judge with the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.
The nomination, also supported by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was forwarded by President Donald Trump. Shepherd’s nomination will have to be approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, then the full Senate.
Shepherd is a native of El Dorado and graduate of Rice University and the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, where he was managing editor of the Arkansas Law Review.
He was a partner at Shepherd & Shepherd in El Dorado and also served as a prosecuting attorney, and later judge, for the Arkansas Circuit Court’s 13th Judicial District. He is a member of the Federalist Society, according to the press release.
“John Shepherd is an active community member who respects our Constitution and is deeply committed to the rule of law, the pursuit of justice and public service,” Boozman said in the statement. “His extensive legal experience as both a lawyer and judge will serve him well in this role and I’m pleased to support his nomination.”
If approved, Shepherd would succeed U.S. District Court Judge Susan Hickey who has been on the bench since October 2011. She was chief judge of the district between 2019 and 2025.
The Western District of Arkansas includes 34 counties stretching from Texarkana and El Dorado to Fayetteville and Fort Smith.
David Clay Fowlkes, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, also has been nominated to be a federal judge in the Western District of Arkansas. If confirmed by the Senate committee and the U.S. Senate, Fowlkes would succeed U.S. District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III.
Judges now in the Western District are Chief Judge Timothy Brooks (Fayetteville bench), Judge Susan Hickey (El Dorado), Magistrate Judge Christy Comstock (Fayetteville), Magistrate Judge Mark Ford (Fort Smith), and Magistrate Judge Spencer Singleton (El Dorado).