Jesse Smith Henley (May 18, 1917 – October 18, 1997) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Di ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeal ...

and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Education and career

Henley was born in Saint Joe in

Searcy County Searcy County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,195. The county seat is Marshall. The county was formed December 13, 1838, from a portion of Marion County and named for Richard ...

in northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

to Benjamin Harrison Henley and the former Jessie Genoa Willis Smith. In 1941, Henley received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville. He was in private practice in Fayetteville from 1941 to 1954. From 1943 to 1945, he was a clerk and a Referee in Bankruptcy for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1954, he became an associate general counsel in the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

. In 1956, he was named a director in the Office of Administrative Procedure of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

Federal judicial service

With the retirement of Judge

Thomas Clark Trimble III Thomas Clark Trimble III (August 27, 1878 – July 6, 1965) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Education and career Born in Lonoke, Arkansas, Trimble received a Bachelo ...

, the

Arkansas Republican Party The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown Little Rock, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas' U.S ...

State Committee recommended Osro Cobb, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas as Trimble's successor. Trimble had sworn in Cobb as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

in 1954. A former Republican member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the s ...

, Cobb carried the support of

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

s John Little McClellan and J. William Fulbright.

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Herbert Brownell Jr., had also promised to support Cobb for the judicial opening. The Little Rock Integration Crisis, however, ensued, and Cobb continued as United States Attorney during the desegregation of Central High School in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Brownell, meanwhile, resigned and was replaced by William P. Rogers. Cobb later said that his oil investments began to multiply and paid far more than he would have earned as a federal judge had he gotten the appointment that he sought. Henley received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 25, 1958, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

. He was nominated to the same seat on January 17, 1959. His service was terminated on September 8, 1959, due to appointment to a different judicial seat, never having been confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

for Judge Trimble's seat. His service would have otherwise terminated on September 11, 1959, due to the pending adjournment of the Senate. Henley was nominated by President Eisenhower on August 18, 1959, to a joint seat on the

and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas vacated by Judge Harry Jacob Lemley. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 2, 1959, and received his commission on September 8, 1959. He served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 1959 to 1975. His service was terminated on March 24, 1975, due to his elevation to the Eighth Circuit. Henley was nominated by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

on January 28, 1975, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Pat Mehaffy. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 13, 1975, and received his commission on March 14, 1975. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on May 31, 1982. His service was terminated on October 18, 1997, due to his death in Harrison, Arkansas.

Honor

The

J. Smith Henley Federal Building ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

in Harrison is named in Henley's honor. On April 28, 1999, Representative Asa Hutchinson introduced H.R.1605 - To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 402 North Walnut Street in Harrison, Arkansas, as the `J. Smith Henley Federal Building and United States Courthouse'.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Jesse Smith 1917 births 1997 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges United States court of appeals judges appointed by Gerald Ford University of Arkansas School of Law alumni People from Searcy County, Arkansas People from Harrison, Arkansas People from Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas Republicans Unsuccessful recess appointments to United States federal courts Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges 20th-century American lawyers