[1] On February 20, 1936, Lederle was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan vacated by Judge Charles Casper Simons.

He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1959, assuming senior status on July 1, 1960.

[1] The Detroit College of Law would name a student each year as the "Arthur F. Lederle scholar."

Wayne State University has an endowed scholarship that is named in his honor and awarded to first year students.

[2] The collected papers of Judge Lederle, consisting of 3+1⁄2 feet of documents, are held at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State.