Jerry Edwin Smith
Jerry Smith | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
Assumed office December 21, 1987 | |
Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
Preceded by | Seat established by 98 Stat. 333 |
Personal details | |
Born | Jerry Edwin Smith November 7, 1946 Del Rio, Texas, U.S. |
Education | Yale University (BA, JD) |
Jerry Edwin Smith (born November 7, 1946) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Early life and education
Born on November 7, 1946, in Del Rio, Texas,[1] Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1969. He received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1972.
Career
He was a
Federal judicial service
Smith was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on June 2, 1987, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1987, and received commission on December 21, 1987.[3]
Notable cases
Affirmative action
Smith wrote the majority opinion in
EPA regulation
In Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA, 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991), Smith wrote the panel opinion that required the
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.[4] 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.
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
Deep water drilling
Smith was one of three judges on a panel that heard the appeal to
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
Obamacare
In April 2012, during oral argument in a Fifth Circuit case involving the
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.[13] 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 "[t]he 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."[14]
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, 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, 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 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 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 it 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 be admitted 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 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 [for] a time period so short violated the Constitution," holding that the illegality of such actions was not "beyond debatable."[15]
2020 election
On January 2, 2021, Smith, along with
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 vaccine mandate for federal employees.[18] Judge Stephen A. Higginson dissented from that ruling, arguing that the government was entitled to an immediate stay while it appealed.[18]
On February 17, Smith dissented when the majority,
Clerks
Judge Smith's former clerks include:
- Dana Berliner (1991–92), litigation director at the Institute for Justice
- Hon. Texas Supreme Court
- 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
- Tom Cotton (2002–03), U.S. Senator
- Joseph M. Ditkoff (1996–97), associate justice, Massachusetts Appeals Court
- Thomas Dupree (1997–98), former principal deputy assistant attorney general, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
- Hon. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and former justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
- 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
- Jim Hawkins (2006–07), Alumnae College Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center
- Hon. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and former solicitor general of Texas
- Thomas Johnson (2005–06), former general counsel, Federal Communications Commission
- Daryl Joseffer (1995–96), former Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States
- Lee Kovarsky (2004–05), Bryant Smith Chair in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
- 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
- Thom Lambert (1998–99), Wall Family Chair of Corporate Law and Governance, University of Missouri School of Law
- Mithun Mansinghani (2011–12), former Solicitor General of Oklahoma
- Hon. Richard T. Morrison (1993–94), judge, United States Tax Court
- Hon. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Comptroller of the Currencyof the United States
- Aaron Nielson (2007–08), professor of law, J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University
- 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 and deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
- 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
- Stephen S. Schwartz (2008–09), judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
- Volokh Conspiracycontributor
- David H. Steinberg (1993–94), screenwriter
- Volokh Conspiracycontributor
References
- ISBN 9780837908359. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ^ "Hon. Jerry E. Smith". The Federalist Society. 16 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Smith, Jerry Edwin - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- ^ "United States v. Gould" (PDF). ca5.uscourts.gov. March 24, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ^ Pelofsky, Jeremy.; Doggett, Tom. Court refuses stay in deepwater drilling case. Reuters Canada. July 8, 2010.
- ^ Brooks Jackson, Factcheck.org, Fact check: Obama's Supreme Court remarks USAToday, April 5, 2012
- ^ Goodwin, Liz. Jerry Smith’s Obama rebuke questioned by legal experts Yahoo News' The Lookout. April 4, 2012.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Remarks by the President at the Associated Press Luncheon whitehouse.gov April 3, 2012.
- ^ Kerr, Orin. [1], "The Volokh Conspiracy." April 3, 2012.
- ^ Sam Baker. Bush attorney general defends judge’s probe of Obama healthcare comments, The Hill, 04/04/12.
- ^ http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_HEALTH_CARE_JUDGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
- ^ United States v. Kebodeaux from uscourts.gov
- ^ United States v. Kebodeaux, 133 S. Ct. 2496, 2507 (2013) (Roberts, C.J., concurring in the judgment)
- ^ "Trent Taylor v. Marion Williams – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
- ^ http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/21/21-40001.0.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Appeals court dismisses Gohmert's election suit against Pence". MSN.
- ^ a b "Feds for Medical Freedom et al. vs. Joseph R. Biden Jr. et al" (PDF). ca5.uscourts.gov. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "David Sambrano et al. v. United Airlines" (PDF). ca5.uscourts.gov. February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ "Thursday Was One of the Most Radical Days for the Federal Courts in Years". ca5.uscourts.gov. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
External links
- Jerry Edwin Smith at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Bloomberg BNA profile on Judge Smith