El Dorado Magistrate Confirmed To Federal Appeals Post

Bobby Shepherd, a U.S. magistrate from El Dorado, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Senators confirmed Shepherd on Thursday in Washington. The appeals court he joins in Saint Louis covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. U.S. Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas praised Shepherd as a "rare find" for a judicial nominee because there has been no controversy or opposition about the magistrate. Pryor said after Thursday's vote that Shepherd will serve the court with distinction and integrity. President Bush nominated Shepherd in May. Shepherd replaces U.S. Circuit Judge Morris Arnold, who is taking senior status. Shepherd is the second person to jump from being a magistrate directly to a federal appeals circuit, without having served as a U.S. district judge. He has been a magistrate for the Western District of Arkansas for nearly 13 years after serving as a state circuit-chancery judge. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University and received his law degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He served in the Army Reserve from 1973 to 1981.