Jerry Edwin Smith
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Jerry Edwin Smith (born November 7, 1946) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a
United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...
.


Early life and education

Born on November 7, 1946, in Del Rio,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, Smith received a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1969. He received a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
in 1972.


Career

He was a
law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
for Judge Halbert O. Woodward of the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (in case citations, N.D. Tex.) is a United States district court. Its first judge, Andrew Phelps McCormick, was appointed to the court on April 10, 1879. The court convenes in ...
from 1972 to 1973. After his clerkship, he joined the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski (now
Norton Rose Fulbright Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is a British-American business law firm. It is the thirteenth-largest by headcount and 21st by revenue, with revenues of more than $2 billion. The British law firm Norton Rose originated in 1794 when it was establ ...
), where he became a partner in 1981. He was Director of the Harris County Housing Authority from 1978 to 1980. He was a special assistant attorney general of Texas from 1981 to 1982. He was Chairman of the Houston Civil Service Commission from 1982 to 1984. He was a city attorney in Houston from 1984 to 1987.


Federal judicial service

Smith was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
on June 2, 1987, to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...
, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on December 19, 1987, and received commission on December 21, 1987.


Notable cases


Affirmative action

Smith wrote the majority opinion in ''
Hopwood v. Texas ''Hopwood v. Texas'', 78 F.3d 932 ( 5th Cir. 1996), was the first successful legal challenge to a university's affirmative action policy in student admissions since '' Regents of the University of California v. Bakke''. In ''Hopwood'', four whit ...
'', 78 F.3d 932 (5th Cir. 1996), in which the Fifth Circuit struck down the use of affirmative action in admissions at the
University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...
. Seven years later, the decision was abrogated by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
's 5–4 decision in ''
Grutter v. Bollinger ''Grutter v. Bollinger'', 539 U.S. 306 (2003), was a landmark case of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning affirmative action in student admissions. The Court held that a student admissions process that favors "underrepresented mi ...
'', 539 U.S. 306 (2003). However, in 2023, the Supreme Court effectively overruled Grutter v. Bollinger, in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The Court found that affirmative action in student admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.


EPA regulation

In ''Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA'', 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991), Smith wrote the panel opinion that required the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
to use cost-benefit analysis when deciding whether to ban a toxic substance.


4th amendment

Smith dissented in a 2004 case called ''United States v. Gould''. A large majority of the judges ruled that a "protective sweep" of a man hiding in the woods, which included arresting him without a warrant and seizing his guns, was not a violation of the 4th amendment. Although Smith's position lost that day, 17 years later the Supreme Court would unanimously take a position similar to Smith's in ''
Caniglia v. Strom ''Caniglia v. Strom'', 593 U.S. 194 (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution's "community caretaking" exception. Background During a heated argument in their home on Augu ...
''.


Securities fraud claims

In ''Regents of the University of California v. Credit Suisse First Boston'', 482 F.3d 372 (5th Cir. 2007), Smith wrote the majority opinion barring securities fraud claims against third parties who aided in securities fraud but did not directly mislead investors. The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in '' Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta'', 552 U.S. 148 (2008).


Deep water drilling

Smith was one of three judges on a panel that heard the appeal to '' Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar'', a case challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior's six-month moratorium on exploratory drilling in deep water that was adopted in the wake of the
Deepwater Horizon explosion On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the ''Deepwater Horizon'' semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about southea ...
and the subsequent oil spill. The lower court had struck down the Department of the Interior's moratorium as arbitrary and capricious government action, and the Fifth Circuit panel denied the government's emergency request to stay the lower court's decision pending appeal.


Texas House redistricting

In November 2011, Smith, sitting on a special three-judge district court, dissented in ''Perez v. Perry'', 835 F. Supp. 2d 209 (W.D. Tex. 2011), in which the majority adopted an interim redistricting map for the Texas House of Representatives. In his dissent, Judge Smith characterized the majority's map as being of the "purest of intentions" but "extreme" and "untethered to the applicable caselaw." Agreeing with Judge Smith, the Supreme Court unanimously vacated the district court's majority opinion in '' Perry v. Perez'', 565 U.S. 388 (2012).


Obamacare

In April 2012, during oral argument in a Fifth Circuit case involving the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
(ACA), Smith ordered the Department of Justice to provide his panel of three judges with a three-page, single-spaced report explaining President Obama's views on judicial review. Judge Smith's order was prompted by Obama's recent press conference remarks on a case pending before the Supreme Court in which the Court was considering, among other things, whether to strike down the entire ACA as unconstitutional. Obama had said that if the Supreme Court overturned the ACA, it would be "an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," and that a law that was passed by Congress on an economic issue had not been overturned by the court "going back to the ’30s, pre New Deal," remarks that were criticized by many as historically and legally inaccurate.Jerry Markon
In letter to judge, Holder defends Obama’s comments urging Supreme Court to uphold health-care law
''The Washington Post,'' April 5, 2012.
Though Judge Smith's response and order were criticized by some legal scholars and members of the press, Bush administration U.S. Attorney General and former judge
Michael Mukasey Michael Bernard Mukasey (; born July 28, 1941) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 81st Attorney General of the United States from 2007 to 2009 and as a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N ...
defended Smith, stating that Obama's remarks had called judicial review "into question," so that "the court has, it seems to me, every obligation to sit up and take notice of Mr. Obama." U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Justice Department would respond "appropriately" to the judge's request and filed a short response, conceding that the federal courts have the power to strike down laws passed by Congress but citing Supreme Court precedent for the proposition that those laws are presumed constitutional and should only be overturned "sparingly".


Scope of Congress's power

In July 2012, Smith authored the bipartisan majority opinion for the ''en banc'' Fifth Circuit in ''United States v. Kebodeaux'', 687 F.3d 232 (5th Cir. 2012), holding that, once a former federal convict has fully served his sentence and been unconditionally released from prison, the federal government cannot regulate his purely intrastate conduct merely because he was once convicted of a federal crime. Smith's majority opinion further held that the mere possibility that a person may move interstate in the future is an insufficient basis for the federal government to regulate that person under the Interstate Commerce Clause. The decision was reversed 7–2 by the Supreme Court in '' United States v. Kebodeaux'', 133 S. Ct. 2496 (2013), on the grounds that Kebodeaux himself was not unconditionally released from federal custody, because a law in effect at the time of his offense required him to register as a sex offender after his release from prison. However, a concurring opinion by Chief Justice Roberts agreed with Judge Smith's ''en banc'' opinion on the core issue that " e fact of a prior federal conviction, by itself, does not give Congress a freestanding, independent, and perpetual interest in protecting the public from the convict’s purely intrastate conduct."


Bankruptcy courts

In November 2013, Smith authored the court's opinion in ''BP RE, L.P. v. RML Waxahachie Dodge, L.L.C. (In re BP RE, L.P.)'', 735 F.3d 279 (5th Cir. 2013), holding that a bankruptcy court lacked power under Article III of the Constitution to adjudicate "non-core" bankruptcy claims even where the parties to the proceeding consented to the bankruptcy court's authority to adjudicate the claims. Judge Smith's opinion was later abrogated in a 6–3 opinion by the Supreme Court in ''Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif'', 135 S. Ct. 92 (2015).


Free speech

In July 2014, Smith dissented in ''Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. v. Vandergriff'', 759 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 2014), in which the majority held that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicle's decision to deny an application for a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. In his dissent, Judge Smith said that the specialty license plate constituted government speech rather than private speech and that therefore the First Amendment did not apply. The Supreme Court later agreed with Judge Smith in a 5–4 opinion in '' Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc.'', 135 S. Ct. 2239 (2015).


Religious freedom

In June 2015, Smith authored the court's opinion in ''East Texas Baptist University v. Burwell'', 793 F.3d 449 (5th Cir. 2015), upholding the Obama Administration's requirement that religious organizations either offer their employees health insurance that covers certain contraceptive services or submit a form or notification declaring their religious opposition to that coverage. Judge Smith's opinion rejected the argument that the Obama Administration's rule violated the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at through (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religio ...
, finding that it did not substantially burden the religious exercise of religious organizations. His opinion was later vacated in a per curiam opinion by the Supreme Court in ''
Zubik v. Burwell ''Zubik v. Burwell'', 578 U.S. 403 (2016), was a case before the United States Supreme Court on whether religious institutions other than churches should be exempt from the contraceptive mandate, a regulation adopted by the United States Departme ...
'', 136 S. Ct. 1557 (2016), which called on the parties to reach a compromise that both accommodated religious institutions' exercise of religion while at the same time ensuring that women covered by religious institutions' health plans receive contraceptive coverage. The
Trump Administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...
has since drafted a rule to roll back the Obama Administration's contraceptive requirement for many religious employers.


DAPA

In November 2015, Smith wrote the majority opinion in ''Texas v. United States'', 809 F.3d 134 (5th Cir. 2015), which held that the Obama Administration's
Deferred Action for Parents of Americans Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), sometimes called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, was a planned United States immigration policy to grant deferred action status to certain undocumented i ...
and Lawful Permanent Residents program ("DAPA") violated the Administrative Procedure Act and affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction forbidding implementation of DAPA. In '' United States v. Texas'', 136 S. Ct. 2271 (2016), the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment by an equally divided vote. In June 2017, the Trump Administration announced that i
would not implement DAPA


Establishment Clause

In March 2017, Smith authored a unanimous opinion in ''American Humanist Ass'n v. McCarthy'', 851 F.3d 521 (5th Cir. 2017), holding that the Birdville Independent School District's policy of inviting students to make speeches, which could include invocations, before school board meetings did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, under the Supreme Court's legislative prayer exception.


Abortion

In 2018, Smith wrote the majority opinion in ''June Medical Services v. Gee'', 905 F.3d 787 (5th Cir. 2018), which held that the Louisiana Unsafe Abortion Protection Act (Act 620), which required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, was constitutional. In 2020, the decision was reversed in a 5–4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in '' June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo''.


Qualified immunity

In 2019, Smith wrote the majority opinion in ''Taylor v. Williams'', 715 F App'x 332 (5th Cir. 2017). Smith granted
qualified immunity In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle of federal law that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from lawsuits for damages unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "c ...
to correctional officers for their treatment of a prisoner subjected to six days' seclusion in cells covered in feces, with no water or toilet available, because it "wasn't clearly established" that "prisoners...housed in cells teeming with human waste ora time period so short violated the Constitution," holding that the illegality of such actions was not "beyond debatable."


2020 election

On January 2, 2021, Smith, along with
Patrick E. Higginbotham Patrick Errol Higginbotham (born December 16, 1938) is an American judge and lawyer who serves as a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Back ...
and Andrew Oldham, affirmed the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of a lawsuit filed by
Louie Gohmert Louis Buller Gohmert Jr. (; born August 18, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, and former judge who was the U.S. representative from Texas's 1st congressional district from 2005 to 2023. Gohmert is a Republican and was part of the Tea ...
aimed at empowering Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
to overturn President-Elect
Joseph Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's Electoral College win.


Vaccine mandates

On February 9, 2022, Smith was one of two judges who declined to rule on a request to stay a preliminary injunction against Biden's
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
vaccine mandate for federal employees. Judge Stephen A. Higginson dissented from that ruling, arguing that the government was entitled to an immediate stay while it appealed. On February 17, Smith dissented when the majority,
Jennifer Walker Elrod Jennifer Walker Elrod (born Jennifer Leigh Walker; September 6, 1966) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She previously served as a stat ...
and Andy Oldham, reversed the district court's order denying a preliminary injunction to employees challenging United Airlines' vaccine mandate. Smith's dissent of nearly 60 pages accused the majority of flouting "fifty years of precedent and centuries of Anglo-American remedies law" and ignoring the text of the relevant statute "to extract its desired result.". He also criticized the majority for hiding its "made-up" legal theory in an unsigned and unpublished opinion. "If I ever wrote an opinion authorizing preliminary injunctive relief for plaintiffs without a cause of action, without a likelihood of success on the merits (for two reasons), and devoid of irreparable injury, despite the text, policy, and history of the relevant statute, despite the balance of equities and the public interest, and despite decades of contrary precedent from this circuit and the Supreme Court, all while inventing and distorting facts to suit my incoherent reasoning, 'I would hide my head in a bag,'" Judge Smith concluded, quoting the late Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...
. ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' described Smith's dissent as a "60-page burst of fury" and "one of the angriest dissents of his career".


Death penalty

On October 9, 2023, Smith dissented from a 5th circuit order upholding a stay of execution. Smith attached a fake majority opinion to his dissent, resembling what he thought the majority opinion should be.


Clerks

Judge Smith's former clerks include: * Hon
Matthew Ackerman
(2019–20), judge,
Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...
*
Dana Berliner Dana Berliner is litigation director at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm in Arlington, Virginia. She was co-lead counsel for Susette Kelo in the landmark United States Supreme Court case ''Kelo v. City of New London''. Edu ...
(1991–92), litigation director at the
Institute for Justice The Institute for Justice (IJ) is a non-profit public interest law firm in the United States. It has litigated twelve cases before the United States Supreme Court dealing with eminent domain, interstate commerce, public election finance, public ...
* Hon.
Jimmy Blacklock Jimmy Blacklock (born August 28, 1980) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court since 2025. He previously served as a justice of the same court from 2018 to 2025. Background Blacklock was born in Hou ...
(2005–06), chief justice,
Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...

Ronald J. Colombo
(1998–99), professor of law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University * Sean J. Cooksey (2014–15), commissioner,
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
*
Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...
(2002–03), U.S. Senator * Hon
Joseph M. Ditkoff
(1996–97), associate justice,
Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the ...
* Hon
Susanna Dokupil
(2000–01), justice,
Texas Court of Appeals The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fifteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. ...
* Hon. Grant Dorfman (1992–93), judge, Texas Business Court
Thomas Dupree
(1997–98), former principal deputy assistant attorney general, Civil Division,
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
* Hon.
Allison H. Eid Allison Lynn Hartwell Eid (born January 7, 1965) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit since 2017. She previously served as an associate justice of the Colora ...
(1991–92), judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and former justice of the
Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

Scott Glabe
(2012–2013), former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Trade and Economic Security and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans * Stephen E. Henderson (1999–2000), Judge Haskell A. Holloman Professor of Law,
University of Oklahoma College of Law The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents. Accordi ...
* Jim Hawkins (2006–07), Alumnae College Professor of Law,
University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is ...
* Hon.
James C. Ho James Chiun-Yue Ho ( Chinese: 何俊宇; pinyin: ''Hé Jùnyǔ''; born February 27, 1973) is a Taiwanese American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed i ...
(1999–2000), judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * ...
, and former
solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Thomas Johnson
(2005–06), former general counsel,
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

Daryl Joseffer
(1995–96), former Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States *
Lee Kovarsky Lee B. Kovarsky is an American legal scholar. Kovarsky was raised in Houston, and grew up as a fan of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team. He graduated with a degree in political science and economics from Yale College. He then worked for ...
(2004–05), Bryant Smith Chair in Law,
University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...
* Julian Ku (1998–99), vice dean for academic affairs, Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Faculty Director of International Programs, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, and cofounder of
Opinio Juris Opinio juris may refer to: * Sources of international law#Opinio juris *''Opinio juris sive necessitatis ''Opinio juris sive necessitatis'' ("an opinion of law or necessity") also simply ''opinio juris'' ("an opinion of law") is the belief that an ...
*
Thom Lambert Thomas A. Lambert is an American legal scholar. After graduating from Wheaton College in 1993 with a bachelor's degree, Lambert became an environmental policy analyst at the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University in St. ...
(1998–99), Wall Family Chair of Corporate Law and Governance,
University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The s ...

Mithun Mansinghani
(2011–12), former
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
of
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
* Hon. Richard T. Morrison (1993–94), judge,
United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...
* Hon. John B. Nalbandian (1994–95), judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...
* Keith Noreika (1997–98), former acting
Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to corporate charter, charter, bank regulation ...
of the United States * Aaron Nielson (2007–08), professor of law, J. Reuben Clark Law School at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
* Margaret Peterlin (2000–01), former Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State and former Deputy
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, or USC(IP), is a senior official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the intellectual property matters. In t ...
and deputy director of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

Prerak Shah
(2010–11), former Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and former chief of staff and chief counsel to U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
* Hon. Stephen S. Schwartz (2008–09), judge,
United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal courts, United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government. It ...
*
Ilya Somin Ilya Somin (born 1973) is an American legal scholar. He is a law professor at George Mason University, B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, a blogger for the Volokh Conspiracy, and a former co-editor of the '' Su ...
(2001–02), professor of law,
George Mason University School of Law The Antonin Scalia Law School is the law school of George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research university. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and east-northeast of George Mason University's ...
, and
Volokh Conspiracy The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a Legal blogs, legal blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertar ...
contributor *
David H. Steinberg David H. Steinberg is an American writer, director, and producer for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for '' American Pie 2'', '' Slackers'', '' National Lampoon's Barely Legal'', and '' American Pie Presents'': '' The Book of Lov ...
(1993–94), screenwriter *
Todd Zywicki Todd Joseph Zywicki (born January 18, 1966) is an American lawyer, legal scholar and educator. He is a George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, where he teaches in the areas of bankruptcy and contracts ...
(1993–94), George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law and executive director of the Law & Economics Center,
George Mason University School of Law The Antonin Scalia Law School is the law school of George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research university. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and east-northeast of George Mason University's ...
, and
Volokh Conspiracy The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a Legal blogs, legal blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertar ...
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See also

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List of United States federal judges by longevity of service These are lists of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. Senate confirmation along with presidential appointment to an Article III court entails a lifelong appointment, unless the judge is impeached, resigns, retires, ...


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External links

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Bloomberg BNA profile on Judge Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jerry Edwin 1946 births 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Living people Lawyers from Houston United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Yale Law School alumni People from Del Rio, Texas City and town attorneys in the United States