History
Arkansas was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, and became part of the Territory of Missouri in 1812, when Louisiana became a state. When Missouri became a state in 1819, a territorial government, including a territorial court, was organized for Arkansas, taking effect on July 4, 1819. The United States District Court for the District of Arkansas was established with a single judge when Arkansas became a state, on June 15, 1836, by 5 Stat. 50, 51. The court was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1851, by 9 Stat. 594.
The court's headquarters and one of its divisions is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Famous "hanging judge" Isaac Parker presided over this court in Fort Smith; the former barracks that served as his courthouse and jail is now part of Fort Smith National Historic Site. The court presently sits in a nearby Federal office building named after Parker.
Another division of the court in Texarkana, Arkansas shares a courthouse with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the only federal courthouse in the United States to sit in two states.
Read more about this topic: United States District Court For The Western District Of Arkansas
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