Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1994, and received commission on May 9, 1994. He served as Chief Judge from 2012 to 2019. Personal life Stewart has been married for 21 years to Jo Ann Southall Stewart, a registered nurse who works with school children who have substance abuse problems. They have three children. Stewart's two brothers also are distinguished attorneys: Captain Richard G. Stewart Jr. is a Force Judge Advocate in the U.S. Navy, and Judge James E. Stewart Sr. serves on Louisiana's District Court. Stewart is also a lay leader of the Louisiana United Methodist Conference. Awards and honors Stewart has been honored with awards from the Boy Scouts of America and the Carver Branch YMCA. Stewart also was named Louisiana Outstanding Young Man of the Year by the Louisiana Chapter of the Jaycees and won the Black Leader of the Year award from the Southern University Shreveport-Bossier Afro-American Society. Publications Published writings by Stewart include: "Contemporary Challenges to Judicial Independence", Loyola Law Review, Loyola University School of Law, 1997; "Balancing Professionalism, Ethics Quality of Life and the Successful Practice of Law", Proceedings of the Forty-Fifth Annual Institute of Labor Law Developments, The Southwestern Legal Foundation, 1999; and "Abuse of Power & Judicial Misconduct: A Reflection on Contemporary Ethical Issues Facing Judges", The University of St. Thomas Law Journal, The University of St. Thomas School of Law, 2003. See also List of African-American federal judges List of African-American jurists References External links White House press release Board of Trustees, American Inns of Court 1950 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century Methodists 21st-century American judges 21st-century Methodists Activists for African-American civil rights African-American judges American legal scholars American United Methodists Assistant United States Attorneys Circuit court judges in the United States Dillard University alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Louisiana Democrats Louisiana lawyers Louisiana state court judges Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni People from Shreveport, Louisiana United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States Army officers