F. A. Little Jr. Explained

Frank Alan "Pappy" Little Jr.
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Term Start:May 30, 2002
Term End:May 15, 2006
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Term Start1:1996
Term End1:2002
Predecessor1:John Malach Shaw
Successor1:Richard T. Haik
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Term Start2:October 12, 1984
Term End2:May 30, 2002
Appointer2:Ronald Reagan
Predecessor2:Nauman Scott
Successor2:Dee D. Drell
Birth Date:October 26, 1936
Birth Place:Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Death Date:March 31, 2024 (aged 87)
Death Place:Houston, Texas
Party:Republican
Residence:Alexandria, Louisiana
Houston, Texas
Education:Tulane University (BA, JD)

Frank Alan "Pappy" Little Jr. (October 26, 1936  - March 31, 2024) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.[1]

Education and career

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Little received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1958. In 1961, he obtained a Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School. From 1961 to 1965, he was in private practice in New Orleans. In 1965, he moved his practice to Alexandria in Rapides Parish. He remained with the Gold, Little, Simon, Weems, and Bruser firm until he was appointed in 1984 to the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

On September 11, 1984, Little was nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana by President Ronald Reagan to fill the position vacated by the retirement of Judge Nauman Scott, an original appointee of President Richard Nixon. Little was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 11, 1984, and received his commission the following day. He served as Chief Judge from 1996 to 2002 and then assumed senior status on May 30, 2002, serving in that status until his retirement from the bench on May 15, 2006.

While in the Western District, Little sat on some 250 cases on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth circuits.[2]

Post judicial service

Upon retirement from the federal bench, Little was for nearly nine years the Chief Tribal Judge for the Coushatta Indian Tribe in Kinder, Louisiana.[1]

Little returned to private practice in Alexandria after his judicial tenure and specializes in arbitration, mediation, and appellate review. He also lectures on the Constitution of the United States and on topics relating to taxation. Little has written for the Tulane Law Review, Tax Law Review, and Hastings Law Journal. He is also the chief judge for the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.[2]

Judge Little died at the age of 87 in Houston, Texas, where he had relocated in 2022.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Frank Alan Little Jr., obituary. Alexandria Town Talk. April 2, 2024.
  2. Web site: F. A. Little Jr. (Ret.). fedarb.com. April 6, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120414182336/http://www.fedarb.com/Little.asp. April 14, 2012.