--- title: "John Thomas Shepherd | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-t-shepherd" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # John Thomas Shepherd U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - State: Arkansas - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas since April 23, 2026, appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by - On January 6, 2026, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Shepherd to the Western District of Arkansas seat vacated by Judge Susan O. Hickey - Judge, Circuit Court of Arkansas, Thirteenth Judicial District, 2025-2026 - Judge, Arkansas 13th Judicial Circuit Court, El Dorado (2025–2026) - Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Thirteenth Judicial District, Arkansas, 2016-2024; deputy prosecuting attorney, 2016-2017, 2019-2024; prosecuting attorney, 2017-2019 - Prosecuting Attorney for the Arkansas 13th Judicial District (2017–2019), with prior roles as deputy prosecuting attorney (2016–2017, 2019–2024) - The brother of former Arkansas House Speaker Matthew Shepherd and nephew of Judge Bobby Shepherd of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Arkadelphian ### Education ### Additional information - Shepherd succeeds Judge Susan Hickey, who served since 2010 Arkadelphian. - Apr 14, 2026 – Senate confirmation 53–46 - Apr 23, 2026 – Judicial commission issued - Apr 13, 2026 – Senate cloture by 50–44 - Mar 5, 2026 – Reported out 12–10 (party-line) - Feb 4, 2026 – Senate Judiciary Committee hearing - Private practice, El Dorado, Arkansas, 2013-2024 - Private practice in El Dorado, AR (2013–2024) - Born in 1987 in El Dorado, Arkansas, Shepherd obtained a B.A. in political science from Rice University in 2009 and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2013. - The Western District of Arkansas covers 34 of Arkansas’s 75 counties, including most of the 13th Judicial District Arkadelphian. - While at Rice, he played quarterback for the Owls football team. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files  Electronic evidence files should be provided on a USB drive.  Requirements for Exhibit File Types o All electronic evidence should be provided using the following formats:  Documents and Photographs: .pdf, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, .gif  Video and Audio Recordings: .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mp3, .mp4, .wma, .wav,… [Microsoft Word - src How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files (002)](https://www.arwd.uscourts.gov/sites/arwd/files/JERS-%20How%20to%20Submit%20Electronic%20Exhibit%20Files.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt:  Electronic evidence files must be provided on a USB drive.  Requirements for Exhibit File Types o All electronic evidence must be provided using the following formats:  Documents and Photographs: .pdf, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, .gif  Video and Audio Recordings: .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mp3, .mp4, .wma, .wav, .3gpp o The individual file size… [Microsoft Word - 2022 JERS- How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files](https://www.arwd.uscourts.gov/sites/arwd/files/How%20to%20Submit%20Electronic%20Exhibit%20Files.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762120) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762120) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762120) - [Microsoft Word - src How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files (002)](https://www.arwd.uscourts.gov/sites/arwd/files/JERS-%20How%20to%20Submit%20Electronic%20Exhibit%20Files.pdf) - [Microsoft Word - 2022 JERS- How to Submit Electronic Exhibit Files](https://www.arwd.uscourts.gov/sites/arwd/files/How%20to%20Submit%20Electronic%20Exhibit%20Files.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [Judge John Thomas Shepherd](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762120) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-t-shepherd", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-t-shepherd", "name": "John Thomas Shepherd | KnowJudges", "description": "John Thomas Shepherd, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.