Steven Wayne Smith

Steven Wayne Smith (born October 26, 1961), is a Republicanformer Texas Supreme Court associate justice, who was defeated for renomination in 2004 through the active opposition of Governor Rick Perry. He was unseated by Paul W. Green. Smith again lost – very narrowly – a bid for nomination to the court in the March 7, 2006, GOP primary, when Perry again opposed his candidacy. Smith did not file to run in the March 4, 2008, Republican primary for the high court.

Smith served on the high Texas court from November 2002 through January 2005. He is known for his conservative judicial philosophy and opposition to racial quotas.

A fifth-generation Texan, Smith was reared in Everman south of Fort Worth. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he received a B.B.A. in finance, the first member of his extended family to have graduated from college. Smith attended the University of Texas Law School, where he concentrated on federal law. He graduated with honors in 1986.

After graduation, Smith worked as a bill analyst for the Texas Senate and as a staff attorney, first for the Office of the Texas Secretary of State and then for the Texas Legislative Council. He spent three years at the legislative council and worked on redistricting issues and judicial selection. There he met his wife, the former Susan Hunter, who was also on the legal staff.

“My judicial philosophy probably comes as much from working at the...
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