Clarence Arlen Beam (January 14, 1930 – October 31, 2025) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1987 to 2025 and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska from 1981 to 1987.
![C[larence] Arlen Beam](/images-webp/judges/clarence-arlen-beam.webp)
C[larence] Arlen Beam
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska
Born 1930 in Stapleton, NE
Died 2025 in Lincoln, NE
FJC ID: 126
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 46/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 792/year
Nebraska District Court · 1981–1987Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1987–2025
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Lincoln, Nebraska1965–1982
U.S. Army captain1951–1953
Appointments
1987–2025 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)Term ended: Death
1981–1987 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- University of Nebraska College of LawJ.D. · 1965
- University of NebraskaB.S. · 1951