--- title: "Morris Sheppard Arnold | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/morris-sheppard-arnold" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Morris Sheppard Arnold U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Dean, Indiana University School of Law, 1985-present - Visiting professor, Stanford University School of Law, 1985-present - Special chief justice, Arkansas Supreme Court, 1982-present - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC) Appointed 2008; held the role of Presiding Judge from 2012 to 2013 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Arkansas, 1985-1992 - Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1984-1985 - Professor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law (1971–77), later Dean (1985) - Professor, University of Arkansas School of Law, 1981-1984 - Vice president, University of Pennsylvania/professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1977-1981 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - As of now, Arnold is a Senior Judge on the Eighth Circuit, continuing to hear cases in a reduced capacity - Visiting professor at Stanford Law School and other institutions ### Education - S.J.D. — Harvard University — 1971 - LL.M. (1969) and S.J.D. (1971) – Harvard Law School - Additional study at the University of London Institute for Historical Research (1970–71). - Harvard University — LL.M. (1969) - University of Arkansas School of Law (first in class, editor-in-chief, Arkansas Law Review) — LL.B. (1968) - E.E. — University of Arkansas — B.S. (1965) - Phillips Exeter Academy ### Additional information - Special master, Chancery Court of Pulaski County, AR, 1983-present - Private practice, Texarkana, AR, 1968-present - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Nominated by President George H. W. Bush on November 6, 1991; confirmed May 21, 1992; assumed senior status October 9, 2006. - U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on October 23, 1985; confirmed December 16, 1985; served until June 1, 1992. - Private practice, Little Rock, AR, 1981-1984 - Teaching fellow in law, Harvard University, 1969-1970 - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Birth place: Texarkana, TX ## 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 ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377266) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377266) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377266) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/127/morris-sheppard-arnold/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/127/morris-sheppard-arnold/) - [Wikidata: Morris S. Arnold](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6913873) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/morris-sheppard-arnold", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/morris-sheppard-arnold", "name": "Morris Sheppard Arnold | KnowJudges", "description": "Morris Sheppard Arnold, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 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