--- title: "Susan Owens Hickey | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-o-hickey" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Susan Owens Hickey 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 - Law clerk, Hon. Harry F. Barnes, U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas, 1998-present - Law clerk, Hon. Harry F. Barnes, U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas, 1997-present - Susan Bronwyn Owens Hickey is a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, having assumed senior status on April 14, 2026 - Chief Judge: Western District of Arkansas (February 14, 2019 – September 26, 2025) - State Judge: Circuit Court of Arkansas, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (2010–2011) - Law Clerk: Hon. Harry F. Barnes, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (1997, 1998, 2003–2010) ### Education - University of Arkansas School of Law — J.D. (1981) - University of Arkansas — B.A. (1977) ### Additional information - Federal Judge: Nominated by President Barack Obama on April 6, 2011; confirmed by the Senate 83–8 on October 13, 2011; commissioned October 19, 2011 - Staff attorney, Murphy Oil Corporation, El Dorado, AR, 1981-1984 - Born 1955 in Dallas, Texas. - Date of birth: 1955-01-01 - Served over 2,290 district court cases, with a caseload including personal injury, contract, civil rights, and other matters. - Her appellate record shows 121 of 144 reviewed decisions affirmed, 17 reversed or vacated, and 6 partially affirmed/reversed. - Birth place: Dallas, 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 ### 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/1393806) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393806) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393806) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1446/susan-owens-hickey/) - [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) - [Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/judges.csv) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1446/susan-owens-hickey/) - [Wikidata: Susan Owens Hickey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7648258) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-o-hickey", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-o-hickey", "name": "Susan Owens Hickey | KnowJudges", "description": "Susan Owens Hickey, 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.