Judge Carl E. Stewart received his B.A. degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Dillard University and his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. Immediately following admission to the Louisiana Bar Association in October 1974, he entered the United States Army and served as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps. Following his service as a military lawyer, he has served as a Staff Attorney with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Assistant United States Attorney, Special Assistant City and District Attorney, and private practitioner.

Judge Stewart began his judicial service as a District Judge for the First Judicial District Court of Caddo Parish, and later as a judge on the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport prior to his appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Stewart was the first African American to serve on the Fifth Circuit and became the court’s first African American Chief Judge. His seven-year term ended September 30, 2019. He is a charter member of the Harry V. Booth and Judge Henry A. Politz Chapter of American Inns of Court in Shreveport. He is a past President of the American Inns of Court Foundation Board of Trustees and currently serves as Chair of the Awards Committee.

Judge Stewart is a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States including serving as its Strategic Planning Coordinator. He also serves on the Administrative Office of the United States Courts Judiciary Information Technology Security Committee and the Thomson Reuters Judicial Advisory Council. He is a past chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He served as a Jurist-in-Residence at American University Washington College of Law in 2014.

He presented the 2014 Alvin B. and Janice G. Rubin Visiting Professor Lecture at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. Judge Stewart serves on the Dillard University New Orleans, Louisiana Board of Trustees. He is the recipient of numerous professional awards including four honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. He is an Honorary Master of the Bench, Middle Temple Inn of Court, London, England. The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation presented Judge Stewart with the 35th Annual Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award in 2019, our nation’s highest honor bestowed upon an Article III federal judge.