Jesse Smith Henley

Jesse Smith Henley (May 18, 1917 – October 18, 1997) was a United States federal judge.

Henley was born in Saint Joe, Arkansas, and received an LL.B. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1941. He was in private practice in Fayetteville, Arkansas from 1941 to 1954. He was a clerk and a Referee in Bankruptcy for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas from 1943 to 1945. He became an Associate general counsel in the Federal Communications Commission in 1954, and in 1956 became a Director in the Office of Administrative Procedure, U.S. Department of Justice.

On October 25, 1958, Henley received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas vacated by Thomas C. Trimble. Formally nominated on January 17, 1959, Henley's service was terminated on September 11, 1959, after his nomination was not confirmed 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 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.

Henley was nominated to the Eighth Circuit by Gerald Ford on January 28, 1975, 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 for him.

Sources

• Jesse Smith Henley at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Persondata
Name	Henley, Jesse Smith
Alternative names
Short description	United States federal judge
Date of birth	May 18, 1917
Place of birth	Saint Joe, Arkansas
Date of death	October 18, 1997
Place of death	Harrison, Arkansas