P. K. Holmes III ^[1], who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas from 1998 to 2001, was confirmed by the Senate without opposition on Monday as a U.S. District Court judge.

^[2]

Paul K. Holmes III (Warner Smith)

Holmes currently is of counsel at Warner, Smith & Harris, PLC ^[3]in Fort Smith. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, he was a partner at the firm from 2001 to 2009.

During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Holmes served for two years on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

He first was nominated for the position of District Judge on April 28, 2010, following a recommendation from the state’s Democratic senators, Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln. However, his nomination wasn’t advanced during the 111th Congress. On Jan. 5, President Barack Obama renominated Holmes.

The current senators from Arkansas, Pryor and John Boozman, a Republican, issued a statement praising the new judge as a man of ability and integrity.