--- title: "Robert Toombs Dawson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-t-dawson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Robert Toombs Dawson 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, 1998-2009 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas ### Education - Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas in 1960 and later received his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1965. ### Additional information - Served until August 14, 2009, when he assumed senior status. - received his commission on April 7, 1998. - Private practice, Fort Smith, AR, 1965-1998 - Practiced law in Fort Smith, Arkansas, from 1965 until 1998. - On November 7, 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated Dawson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, a seat vacated by. - Before entering federal service, he served in the U.S. Army (1961–1962) as a first lieutenant in artillery and in the Arkansas National Guard (1962–1965), also as a first lieutenant. - Born August 1, 1938, in El Dorado, Arkansas. - Date of birth: 1938-01-01 - Birth place: El Dorado, 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/1390646) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390646) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390646) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/832/robert-toombs-dawson/) - [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/832/robert-toombs-dawson/) - [Wikidata: Robert T. Dawson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7350219) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-t-dawson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-t-dawson", "name": "Robert Toombs Dawson | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert Toombs Dawson, 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.