Patricia Smith
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Patricia "Patti" Mungenast Smith has served on the Alabama Supreme Court since 2005 along with eight other justices. She was first elected to a six-year term on the court in 2004. Her current term expires in 2010, and she has announced that she does not intend to run for another term. [1]
Alabama is one of eight states that picks state supreme court justices in partisan elections; Smith has run for the office as a Republican.
Legal education and experience
Legal education
She graduated with honors from Troy University in three years and was selected the 1973 Outstanding Female Graduate by the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Patricia Smith attended law school while working at the Veteran's Administration Regional Office in Montgomery. In 1976 she graduated from Jones Law School.
Legal Experience
Smith practiced law briefly in Pelham with the law firm of Bell, Johnson and Medaris. She was hired as the first female Assistant District Attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit, and in 1980, she was appointed by Governor Fob James as the District Court Judge in Shelby County. Patti Smith was elected to the bench that same year and continued to serve as the Presiding District Court Judge in Shelby County with re-elections in 1986, 1992 and 1998. Judge Smith is currently one of the longest serving judges in the State of Alabama.
In 1981, Judge Smith was appointed by Governor Fob James to serve on the Governor's Commission on Crime. In 1989, 1993 and 1998, she was appointed by Chief Justices Hornsby and Hooper to serve as Chairman on the Commission of the Future of the Juvenile Justice System, the Interagency Conference on Youth and as a member of the Alabama Judicial Study Commission on Sentencing. [2]
Awards and associations
In Shelby County, Judge Smith helped to establish the Developing Alabama Youth Foundation, Inc. (D.A.Y.) and the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Alabama Department of Youth Services, King's Ranch, Family Connection, Inc. and Shelby County Regional Juvenile Detention Facility. Currently Judge Smith serves on the State Department of Human Resources Quality Assurance Committee and serves as Chairman of the Department of Human Resources Policy Review Committee. She has been a frequent lecturer to associations of judges, probation officers and social workers.
In 2001, Judge Smith was named the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Judge of the Year for her innovative and long-standing commitment to issues involving children and families. [2]
Political Affiliation and Campaign Contributions
Republican. [3] Although she was not up for election in 2008, she raised $399. [4] For a complete summary, go to Follow the Money: Patricia Smith.
Supreme Court rules Bar can't reprimand judge
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama State Bar Association couldn't discipline Circuit Judge Stuart DuBose for inappropriate actions he made prior to becoming a judge. The high court ruled 5-4 that any disciplinary action by the state organization that represents Alabama's lawyers would have to wait until DuBose is no longer a judge. Concurring on the question were Justices Harold Frend See, Jr., Thomas Woodall, Lyn Stuart, Tom Parker and Michael Bolin. The ruling does not apply to charges pending against DuBose before the Court of the Judiciary. The Judicial Inquiry Commission brought a 60-count complaint against DuBose for ethical misconduct that does include the matter that the bar association was looking into. DuBose argued after he took office that the bar association no longer had jurisdiction since he was now a judge and no longer an attorney in private practice. The majority of the Supreme Court justices agreed but Justice Champ Lyons, Jr. of Mobile writing for the four justices who dissented said, "Treating the rule as preventing the State Bar from disciplining a judge for conduct that occurred before taking office gives the judge an unwarranted immunity." Others dissenting included Justices Patricia Smith and Glenn Murdock and Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb.[5]
External links
References
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The Alabama Project on Judgepedia
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