Judicial Career
When Judge Thomas Clark Trimble, III, retired, the Arkansas Republican 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 U.S. attorney in 1954. A former Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Cobb carried the support of Democratic U.S. Senators John Little McClellan and J. William Fulbright. Attorney General of the United States Herbert Brownell, Jr., had also promised to support Cobb for the judicial opening. The Little Rock Integration Crisis, however, ensued, and Cobb continued as U.S. attorney during the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. 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.
On October 25, 1958, Henley received a recess appointment from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the seat Trimble vacated. Formally nominated on January 17, 1959, Henley's service was terminated on September 11, 1959, after his nomination was rejected by the United States Senate.
Before Henley's recess appointment expired, on August 18, 1959, Eisenhower had already re-nominated Henley to a seat on the combined Eastern and Western District of Arkansas, both seats having been vacated by Harry J. Lemley. This time, Henley was confirmed by the Senate on September 2, 1959, and received his commission on September 8, 1959 - three days before the expiration of his recess appointment. Henley's service on the District Court ended on March 24, 1975, following his elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
On January 28, 1975, Henley was nominated to the Eighth Circuit by U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., to a seat vacated by Pat Mehaffy. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 1975, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1982, and served in that capacity until his death in Harrison, Arkansas. The J. Smith Henley Federal Building in Harrison is named in his honor.
Read more about this topic: Jesse Smith Henley
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