D[avid] Brooks Smith at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- August 2, 2002–present
D[avid] Brooks Smith
Judge · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Available research
Biography
Professional career
- administrative judge, 1986-1988
- Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Blair County Pennsylvania, 1984-1988
- District attorney, Blair County, PA, 1983-1984
- Special assistant attorney general, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1981-1983
- Assistant district attorney, Blair County, PA, 1977-1979
- Private practice, Altoona, PA, 1976-1984
Judicial service
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 1988-2002
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2002-present
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Education
- Franklin and Marshall College · B.A., 1973
- The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University · J.D., 1976
- Penn State Dickinson Law
Personal record
Born 1951 · Altoona, PA
Courtroom rules and guidance
Appellate Oral Argument
In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.
Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessaryFederal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument ↗
Sources
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · checked July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387941CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3003/david-brooks-smith/Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure