Endowed fund set up to honor Eisele
At 90 years old, nearly three years after retiring, U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele (pronounced Eye-zlee) is still a regular presence in the Little Rock federal courts building, where he retains an office.
And now, thanks to a devoted group of former law clerks, he will maintain an intellectual presence at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for decades to come.
The university announced Tuesday that an endowed fund in honor of Eisele, the longest-serving federal judge in Arkansas, has been established to promote a better understanding of the role of the federal courts and judiciary system in Arkansas.
Called the G. Thomas Eisele Endowment for the Study of the History of the United States Federal Courts in Arkansas, the fund was set up to provide scholarly study at the professional, graduate or undergraduate level, as well as internship opportunities and public programs, such as seminars.
Attorney Peter Kumpe, who clerked for Eisele from 1972-74, said the fund might, for example, provide a stipend for a researcher to come in from another state and study in Arkansas. He said the fund could assist with any number of academic projects not yet anticipated, subject to approval by an advisory group that includes an appointee from the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, the dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law, the chief judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas and the highest-ranking member of the UALR history department.
Kumpe said the fund grew out of former law clerk Edie Ervin’s suggestion that Eisele donate his papers to the Butler Center, which he did. Ervin was clerking for Eisele when he retired Aug. 17, 2011, exactly 41 years after being sworn in under President Richard Nixon.
Kumpe noted that in response to Ervin’s idea, several other former law clerks enthusiastically pitched in to hire an archivist for the judge’s papers, which include correspondence, case files, research material, speeches and newspaper clippings.
“Working with one of the great trial judges of our time was a peak experience in every one of the professional careers of the judge’s clerks,” Kumpe said. “The scholarship and education enabled by this gift will elevate and perpetuate the values he exemplifies, which so influenced each one of us.”
Kumpe said that 25-30 of the judge’s 50 former law clerks surprised him with the endowment June 25 at the Arkansas Studies Institute, after luring him there to meet his archivist.
“We were afraid to ask permission,” Kumpe said, explaining, “He doesn’t like to call attention to himself.”
Contributions to the endowment will pay for the processing of Eisele’s papers and support the work of the UALR Center for History and Culture, according to the university.
Courthouse room named for Mixon
One of the restored third-floor courtrooms at the federal bankruptcy courthouse at Second and Spring streets in Little Rock has been named in honor of the late U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James M. Mixon.
Mixon was 72 when he died early March 10 of ongoing health problems. His wife, Robbie, who works at the nearby federal courthouse, found him unresponsive in their Little Rock home.
Mixon had served the public for nearly 30 years and was on “recall” status, meaning that although his most recent term had officially ended in 2006, he had agreed to continue working to help the court wade through its heavy caseload.
Jean Rolfs, clerk for the bankruptcy courts that serve the Eastern and Western districts of Arkansas, said Friday that more than 150 people gathered in the courthouse rotunda May 16 to honor Mixon and pay respects to his family. On that day, a brass plaque, which was later mounted outside the newly dedicated James G. Mixon Courtroom, was undraped.
It reads: “Named in honor of James G. Mixon, United States Bankruptcy Judge, for his many years of exemplary service to the judiciary/1984-2014.”
On the same table where the plaque stood, covered with a cloth until it was unveiled, was Mixon’s weathered wooden gavel, resting atop a Bible. His judicial robe hung next to the table.
Another restored third-floor courtroom is used by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Audrey Evans, who is retiring effective Jan. 6. The historic building includes one other courtroom on the first floor that is used by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Richard Taylor.