2012 US Code
Title 28 - Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Part I - ORGANIZATION OF COURTS (§§ 1 - 482)
Chapter 5 - DISTRICT COURTS (§§ 81 - 144)
Section 83 - Arkansas

Arkansas is divided into two judicial districts to be known as the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.

(a) The Eastern District comprises five divisions.

(1) The Eastern Division comprises the counties of Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Saint Francis, and Woodruff.

Court for the Eastern Division shall be held at Helena.

(2) The Western Division comprises the counties of Conway, Faulkner, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell.

Court for the Western Division shall be held at Little Rock.

(3) The Pine Bluff Division comprises the counties of Arkansas, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln.

Court for the Pine Bluff Division shall be held at Pine Bluff.

(4) The Northern Division comprises the counties of Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Sharp, and Stone.

Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Batesville.

(5) The Jonesboro Division comprises the counties of Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph.

Court for the Jonesboro Division shall be held at Jonesboro.

(b) The Western District comprises six divisions.

(1) The Texarkana Division comprises the counties of Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada, and Sevier.

Court for the Texarkana Division shall be held at Texarkana, and may be held anywhere within the Federal courthouse in Texarkana that is located astride the State line between Texas and Arkansas.

(2) The El Dorado Division comprises the counties of Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita, and Union.

Court for the El Dorado Division shall be held at El Dorado.

(3) The Fort Smith Division comprises the counties of Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott, and Sebastian.

Court for the Fort Smith Division shall be held at Fort Smith.

(4) The Harrison Division comprises the counties of Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton, and Searcy.

Court for the Harrison Division shall be held at Harrison.

(5) The Fayetteville Division comprises the counties of Benton, Madison, and Washington.

Court for the Fayetteville Division shall be held at Fayetteville.

(6) The Hot Springs Division comprises the counties of Clark, Garland, Hot Springs, Montgomery, and Pike.

Court for the Hot Springs Division shall be held at Hot Springs.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 874; Pub. L. 87–36, §5, May 19, 1961, 75 Stat. 84; Pub. L. 108–455, §3, Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3628.)

Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §144 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §71, 36 Stat. 1106; Apr. 12, 1924, ch. 87, §1, 43 Stat. 90; Feb. 17, 1925, ch. 252, 43 Stat. 948; Apr. 16, 1926, ch. 147, §1, 44 Stat. 296; Apr. 21, 1926, ch. 168, 44 Stat. 304; Feb. 7, 1928, ch. 29, §1, 45 Stat. 58; Apr. 17, 1940, ch. 100, 54 Stat. 109; June 11, 1940, ch. 321, §1, 54 Stat. 302).

A provision making inoperative the terms of the last paragraph of this section, whenever court accommodations shall be provided in Federal buildings was omitted as unnecessary. When such buildings become available the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts will, under section 604 of this title, provide court accommodations therein.

Provisions relating to places for maintenance of clerks’ offices and requiring said offices to be kept open at all times were omitted as covered by sections 452 and 751 of this title.

The provision authorizing the referee in bankruptcy for the western division of the eastern district to serve by appointment in the Hot Springs division of the western district is to be transferred to title 11, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Bankruptcy.

The provision with reference to court accommodations at Fayetteville and Hot Springs was omitted as covered by section 142 of this title.

Changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.

2004—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 108–455 inserted “, and may be held anywhere within the Federal courthouse in Texarkana that is located astride the State line between Texas and Arkansas” after “held at Texarkana”.

1961—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 87–36 struck out from enumeration in par. (1) the parish of Desha and in par. (2) the parishes of Arkansas, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln, added par. (3) consisting of such parishes, and redesignated former par. (3) and (4) as (4) and (5), respectively.