Jerry Edwin Smith at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- December 21, 1987–present
Jerry Edwin Smith
Judge · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Available research
Biography
Professional career
- City Attorney, City of Houston, Houston, TX, 1984-1987
- Chairman, Houston Texas Civil Service Commission, 1982-1984
- Special Assistant Attorney General, State of Texas, TX, 1981-1982
- Director, Harris County Texas Housing Authority, TX, 1978-1980
- Practitioner, Private Practice, Houston, TX, 1973-1984
Judicial service
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Halbert O. Woodward, District Court, N.D. Texas, TX, 1972-1973
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1987-present
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Education
- Yale University · BA, 1969
Personal record
Born November 7, 1946 · Del Rio, TX
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/1387971CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3011/jerry-edwin-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