James Leon Holmes

James Leon Holmes (born March 31, 1951) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Education and career Education Born in Hazen, Arkansas, Holmes received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arkansas State University in 1973, a Master of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University in 1976, a Doctor of Philosophy from Duke University in 1979, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1982.

Pre-legal career His first job was working as a door-to-door salesman for the Southwestern Company in Nashville, Tennessee in the summers of 1971, 1972, and 1973. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 6, 2004 by a 51–46 vote, and received his commission on July 7, 2004. He served as chief judge from 2005 to 2012. He assumed senior status on March 31, 2018. He retired from active service on February 5, 2020.

Abortion remarks

Holmes was at one time a leader in the anti-abortion movement in Arkansas. In 1980, he minimized concerns about the effect on rape victims of a proposed constitutional amendment banning abortion. "Concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami," he wrote. In 1982, he compared the abortion rights movement to the Nazis. "The pro-abortionists counsel us to respond to these problems by abandoning what little morality our society still recognizes," he wrote. "This was attempted by one highly sophisticated, historically Christian nation in our century — Nazi Germany." In 2003, Holmes apologized for the "strident and harsh" rhetoric of these 1980 and 1982 remarks.