Judge Arnold "Buzz"-ing Off? Plus, A Few Good Judges

In response to Article III Groupie's prior requests for judicial nomination gossip, including future openings in the lower courts, a UTR source reported as follows:

Rumor has it that Eighth Circuit Judge Morris S. Arnold will be taking senior status halfway through the fall 2006 term. When his brother, the late (also brilliant) Judge Richard S. Arnold took senior status, Judge Lavenski Smith was appointed to the Eighth in Arkansas.

As noted, this is just rumor; if it is incorrect, please let A3G know. After all, she has been wrong before -- most recently when she passed along some incorrect gossip about Judge Fortunato P. Benavides (5th Cir.) possibly relocating his chambers.

A3G has a few comments to share about Judge Morriz "Buzz" Arnold, a highly respected jurist who served as a law professor and dean before taking the bench. Former clerks of his have raved about Judge Arnold's "amazing intellect" and "delightful personality," describing their clerkship with him as "an incredible learning experience." He's also a "wonderfully friendly" judge, who sometimes goes drinking with his clerks (but not to excess, of course). The highest form of praise? A clerkship with Judge Arnold "is worth spending a year in Little Rock!"

Judge Morris Arnold's late brother, Judge Richard Arnold, was similarly loved by his clerks. A3G previously praised (item #4) Richard Arnold as "dazzlingly brilliant," "a former Supreme Court short-lister and feeder judge" whose death was mourned by almost the entire U.S. Supreme Court (although not Justice Souter, interestingly enough).

By the way, by the end of today -- the first day of interviews under the law clerk hiring plan -- most clerkship applicants will have their jobs lined up, and most judges will have their spots filled. A3G extends her congratulations to all of the lucky winners, the great young legal minds who have managed to snag the coveted credential of a federal judicial clerkship. (You can get the latest news of which judges have hired over at the Clerkship Notification Blog.)

A digression: For those of you non-lawyers who read UTR -- and A3G is surprised by how many of you there are -- please note that being the law clerk to a federal judge is a highly prestigious position, a big f***ing deal. Don't be fooled by the rather lowly sounding title of "clerk." These jobs are exceedingly difficult to get, with hundreds of applicants vying for each opening, and they go to only the best and brightest law school graduates. So, the next time you go to a party and someone introduces himself as a federal law clerk, don't say, "I'm just going to refill my drink, I'll be right back..." Instead, the proper response is: "Wow, very impressive -- congratulations!"

Okay, back to Buzz Arnold. As a great judge located in a less-than-major metropolis, Judge Arnold caused A3G to wonder: Which other stellar judges are not based in our nation's largest cities? Looking ahead to next year, since the law clerk hiring process is pretty much over for this year, here are a few good judges to clerk for whose chambers are a little "off the beaten path" (i.e., not in the top 10 largest cities in the United States, or Washington, D.C.):

--Judge David M. Ebel (10th Cir.) (Denver, Colorado);

--Judge Kermit V. Lipez (1st Cir.) (Portland, Maine);

--Judge M. Blane Michael (4th Cir.) (Charleston, West Virginia);

--Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain (9th Cir.) (Portland, Oregon) (top 10 feeder judge and possible SCOTUS nominee (gavel bang: Howard Bashman)); and

--Judge John D. Tinder (S.D. Ind.) (Indianapolis, Indiana) (interviewed by A3G here and here).

Former clerks to these judges have written in to A3G to praise their erstwhile bosses. But these jurists are merely (somewhat random) examples of the many great federal judges who are not based in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, etc. Please feel free to mention other excellent judges located outside the mega-cities in the comments to this post.* Thanks!

(Update: Lots of fantastic stuff, about lots of fantastic judges, in the comments. Thanks for all the raves, and please keep them coming!)

* A3G realizes that her list is composed entirely of men, so raves about any female judges would be especially welcome. There are tons of superb women judges out there, but so many of them -- including many of the distinguished jurists nominated as judicial hotties -- are in places like New York and L.A. (A3G can't help but wonder whether smaller legal markets might be less welcoming than bigger markets of the high-powered female lawyers who later become high-powered female judges.)

In addition, a number of female judges can be, shall we say, rather difficult as bosses. For more thoughts on this subject, including A3G's speculation as to why some women judges (especially older ones) are not very nice, click here.

Comments

[anon]

Uh... Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson? He's in Charlottesville, and I'm pretty sure it's not a top 10 city.

[Th. Br.]

Don't forget about the very smart and courteous Diana Murphy (8th cir.) of Minneapolis!

[Anonymous]

I would like to second the listing of Judge Michael. Working for him was, without a doubt, the best law-related job I ever had (and I've had many).

A friend of mine had the best year of her life clerking in Boise, Idaho, for the fabulous Judge Trott...

[Anon]

Don't forget about Judge Selya (1st Cir.) in Providence, RI--a great judge with a fantastic clerkship.

[Anon]

I'd add two -- Judge Wesley of the Second Circuit, whose chambers are in Geneseo, NY, and Judge Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit, whose chambers are in Birmingham, AL.

[Amanda]

Stefan Underhill (D. Conn.) is fantastic. Totally smart -- Rhodes Scholar, YLS, former Newman (2d Cir.) clerk -- and a super guy. His clerks rave about him and the praise is completely warranted. He is a great judge.

[Mike]

Speaking of the Arnolds, do check out this article:
http://scribes.org/summer_fall2004.pdf

[WLH]

Richard Arnold was indeed very intelligent; he won the Fay Diploma (i.e., graduated first in his class from Harvard) in 1960 (putting him in the same HLS class as -- and academically ahead of -- Justice Scalia). I believe Arnold was also at the top of his class at Yale College and Phillips Exeter.

[Happy Fun Lawyer]

New Haven (CT) is home to three of the brightest lights of the federal judiciary: Second Circuit Chief Judge John Walker, Jr. and Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi and Jose Cabranes. Of course, there's a pretty obvious reason for such an impressive array of talent residing in New Haven, but it's notable nonetheless. And the rest of the teeny tiny Nutmeg State is also disproportionately represented: there's Judge Newman in Hartford, Judge Parker in Stamford, and Judge Meskill in New Britain.

[Mike]

I'm glad you mentioned Judge M.S. Arnold. He is, imho, the most underrated federal judge. There's no doubt if he were in a "sexier" circuit like the 7th or 9th, he'd been mentioned in the same breath as Posner and Easterbrook. His opinions are clearly written (and short!), and he avoids pretense. Plus, he always gets the law right. Like his late brother (and unlike some other more popular jurists), he appeals to reason rather than authority.

Sadly, becoming a popular federal judge requires someone to write flashy catch-phrases or mention economics. The judges who actually labor in the law rarely get props.

[Nellie]

Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the Tenth Circuit is located in Santa Fe, N.M. and has to be included in this list. He has a reputation for treating his clerks way better than they deserve. Not only do you learn a ton and get to work with a great legal mind, you have a ton of fun doing it. No offense to Judge Ebel, but anyone who has clerked for the Tenth Circuit knows Judge Kelly's clerks have the good life.

[David]

Though Ohioans may consider Columbus to be a major city, most Americans don't. Former classmates from U Chicago have nothing but great things to say about working for him.