A changing of the guard occurred Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Little Rock, when U.S. District Judge Brian Miller surrendered his title of chief judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas to fellow Judge D. Price Marshall Jr.
The chief judge position is largely administrative, "like the chairman of the board," U.S. District Clerk Jim McCormack has said in the past.
It's a seven-year position that follows a routine rotation among the district's full-time judges.
As was the case when Miller took over the title on July 23, 2012, from Judge Leon Holmes, the position this time went to Marshall because he has the most seniority of the other district judges, who are younger than 65 and haven't previously served as chief judge.
McCormack said the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C., issues directives to each district through its chief judge, who in turn acts as a spokesman for all of the judges in the district.
McCormack's office issued an email Tuesday notifying all courthouses of the change.
Marshall, of Jonesboro, was nominated as a federal judge in December 2009 by President Barack Obama and was formally sworn in on Oct. 22, 2010.
Miller, of Helena-West Helena, was nominated by President George W. Bush and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 10, 2008.
Metro on 07/25/2019