Virgil Clark Smith (July 4, 1947 – June 23, 2025) was an American politician and judge. He served as judge of the 3rd Circuit Court in

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 19th ...

from 2004 to 2018, having been appointed to fill a vacancy in the court by Michigan Governor

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...

. Smith previously served as a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

and as a Michigan state senator. He represented a district in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Life and career

Smith earned his bachelor's degree from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and had 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 ...

degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. Smith had served on the judiciary committee of the state house in 1980–1981. He was elected to the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

in 1988 and became the Democratic floor leader in 1995. Smith was the first African-American Michigan Senate floor leader. In 1992, Smith made an unsuccessful run for the office of Wayne County Prosecutor. Since the state senators serve for four years, Smith was not up for re-election in that year. He was first elected to the state senate in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. He resigned to take a job with the Wayne County Prosecutors office in 2001 and remained in that job until he was appointed to the Circuit Court in 2004. On January 1, 2009, Smith became the chief judge of the 3rd Circuit. Smith was married to Elizabeth and had four children. Among these are Virgil Smith, Jr., who also served in the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives. His wife, Elizabeth, is the daughter of the youngest of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

's brothers, Robert Little. Smith died from

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

and

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

, on June 23, 2025, at the age of 77.

References

Sources

Announcement of Smith's appointment to court

''Michigan Citizen'' article on Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Virgil C. 1947 births 2025 deaths Politicians from Detroit Democratic Party Michigan state senators Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan State University alumni Wayne State University alumni Michigan state court judges African-American state legislators in Michigan African-American judges 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American judges 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Deaths from kidney failure in the United States Respiratory disease deaths in Michigan