--- title: "Paul Kinloch Holmes III | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-k-holmes-iii" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Paul Kinloch Holmes III 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: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Arkansas, 2011-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, having assumed senior status on November 10, 2021 - 2012–2019: held the role of Chief Judge of the Western District of Arkansas - 1993–2001: U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas (appointed by President Bill Clinton) - 1976–1978: Law clerk and part-time investigator, Washington County Public Defender’s Office - As Senior Judge, Holmes continues to hear cases in the Western District of Arkansas - His official court contact is: Hon. P.K. Holmes III Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building, 30 South 6th Street, Room 317, Fort Smith, AR 72901 Phone: (479) 783‐1466 ### Education - University of Arkansas School of Law — J.D. (1978) - Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri — B.A. (1973) ### Additional information - February 8, 2011: Commissioned as Judge - January 5, 2011: Renominated by Obama - February 7, 2011: Confirmed by the Senate 95–0 - 2001–2011: Private legal practice, Fort Smith, AR - 1978–1993: Private legal practice, Fort Smith, AR - 1975: Account executive, advertising agency, Little Rock - 1974: Campaign aide to Arkansas Governor-elect David Pryor - 1973–1974: Management trainee, United National Bank, Little Rock, AR - Born November 10, 1951, in Newport, Arkansas. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Birth place: Newport, AR ## 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/1393601) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393601) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393601) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1502/paul-kinloch-holmes-iii/) - [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) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1502/paul-kinloch-holmes-iii/) - [Wikidata: Paul K. Holmes III](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7151671) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-k-holmes-iii", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-k-holmes-iii", "name": "Paul Kinloch Holmes III | KnowJudges", "description": "Paul Kinloch Holmes III, 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.