Judge Morris S. Arnold
Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Morris Shepard Arnold was born in 1941 in Texarkana, Texas. He earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Arkansas, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Arkansas School of Law, a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, and a Doctor of Judicial Science, also from Harvard. He engaged in private practice and was also a teaching fellow at Harvard and later a professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
He spent many years as an educator, at the University of Pennsylvania, at Stanford Law School, at the William H. Bowen School of Law, and was later Dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Arnold was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He was confirmed by the Senate and served until his elevation to the Eighth Circuit. President George H.W. Bush nominated Arnold to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission in May 1992. Arnold served as a judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISA) for four years, serving one year as its Presiding Judge. He assumed senior status at the Eighth Circuit in October 2016.
In the News…
The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a mid-Missouri State Representative in a case over her Twitter account.
The representative was sued after she blocked a constituent on Twitter. Her constituent argued the representative had violated his First Amendment rights when he was blocked. The lower court sided with the constituent.
Appeals Court Judge Morris S. Arnold wrote in his opinion that the representative’s Twitter account, which has since been deleted, functioned more like a campaign newsletter and that she was therefore allowed to choose who could interact with it. Judge Arnold added that the representative has the right to make that selection.
A dissenting judge felt the constituent had been blocked because of his opinions “thereby violating the First Amendment.”
The ruling sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Arnold today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Judge Morris S. Arnold
Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse
111 S. Tenth St.
St. Louis, MO 63102
