Washington Courts: News and Information

Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles Z. Smith passes away at 89

Served as first ethnic minority judge for state judicial branch and Supreme Court; worked with Robert F. Kennedy; great-grandson of slaves

Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles Z. Smith, who served on the Court from 1988 to 2002, died peacefully at home with his family in Seattle on August 28, 2016. He was 89.

Justice Smith was of both African American and Cuban descent, and became the first ethnic minority judge to serve on Seattle Municipal Court in 1965, then the first to serve on King County Superior Court in 1966 when he was appointed to the bench by Gov. Dan Evans.

In 1988, Smith was appointed by Gov. Booth Gardner to be the 78^th Washington Supreme Court justice, and the first person of ethnic minority heritage to serve in the position. Justice Smith served until his mandatory retirement in 2002 at the age of 75. After his retirement, he continued serving as co-chair of the Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission — which he helped establish and build into an active and effective body — until 2009.  

“Justice Smith was a force in the legal community and a voice for diversity and inclusion. He reminded us that the justice system was created to serve all people,” said state Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, who joined Smith on the Court in 1992. “Justice Smith advocated for a purposeful, deliberate strategy to end racial bias in our courts. I was personally in awe of the man and was honored to serve with him.”

Smith was born in Florida to a Cuban father who was a mechanic and an African American mother who was a restaurant chef and the granddaughter of slaves. He attended segregated schools and enlisted in the Army in 1945. He came to Washington state in 1952 after finishing college to visit his mother, who had moved to Seattle, and was immediately accepted into the University of Washington School of Law.

Though he could not find legal offices that would hire him, Smith was accepted as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Matthew Hill in 1955, the first ethnic minority in that position. Smith later said clerking for Justice Hill for nine months “opened up the law to me in a more intense manner than three years of law school,” according to author Charles H. Sheldon in “The Washington High Bench,” his biography of the members of the Court.

Smith went on to work for the King County Prosecutor’s Office and gained some fame for successful prosecution of labor union corruption. This gained him the notice of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who lured Smith away to join a team investigating a corruption case against Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa, from 1960-64.

After he returned to Seattle in 1965, Smith was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court, where he served until his appointment to the Superior Court in 1966. He left the bench in 1973 to serve as a UW School of Law professor and dean, launching several innovative programs, then returned to private practice until being appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Gardner.

During his time on the Court, Smith helped establish and chaired the Supreme Court Minority and Justice Task Force in 1987, charged with researching whether racial and ethnic bias exists in the state’s justice system and with making recommendations to eliminate it. The task force became the Minority and Justice Commission, co-chaired by Justice Smith for years after his retirement from the Court, and is still highly active today.  Learn more about the M&J Commission at http://www.courts.wa.gov/?fa=home.sub&org=mjc&layout=2

“I had the privilege of serving — at his insistence — with Justice Smith on the Minority and Justice Commission while I was a lawyer in the King County Prosecutor’s Office,” said Justice Mary Yu. “He ran a tight ship and made sure that we were always focused on the mission of eradicating bias within our court system. I remained on the Commission through the years and today it is with great honor that I serve as co-chair of the Commission with his long-time friend and colleague, Justice Charles Johnson. We will keep his legacy alive and bright.”

With Smith at the helm, Washington was one of four founding states — including New Jersey, Michigan and New York — that in 1987 formed the National Consortium on Task Forces and Commissions on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts. Smith remained active at the national and international level for many years, advocating for states nationwide to form commissions to battle racial bias in the courts.

“He was a man of great integrity, vision and organization. He exhibited a clarity of thought and purpose that I envied,” said Justice Charles Johnson, who joined the Supreme Court shortly after Smith in 1991 and has co-chaired the Minority and Justice Commission since 1998. “He helped found our Commission and then helped other states establish commissions on race and justice. He had a profound impact on the judicial branch by promoting inclusiveness and fairness both nationally and internationally.”

In addition to his work on racial justice, Smith was known to advocate for treatment over incarceration for accused persons addicted to drugs or alcohol, to advocate for scholarships and training programs for individuals charged with prostitution, and to work toward fairness on immigration and other issues.

“Justice Smith was a pioneer in Washington, accomplishing many firsts,” said Justice Steven González, who was elected to the Court in 2012 and counts Smith as one of his mentors. “He was a mentor to hundreds of lawyers and judges and his influence lives in us, in his opinions, and in the Minority and Justice Commission he founded. The Commission is now thriving with the leadership of Justice Johnson and Justice Yu.” 

More historical information on Justice Smith is available through the Washington Secretary of State’s Legacy Project at http://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/stories/charles-z-smith/

Justice Smith is survived by his wife of 61 years, Eleanor M. Smith; his children Carlos Smith, Michael Smith, Stephen Smith, and Felicia Gittleman; daughters-in-law Sumi Hayashi and Mary Jane Efflandt; grandchildren Mahealani Smith, Alexander Gittleman, Miguel Smith, John Smith, Taliya Gittleman, and Xavier Smith; siblings Julia Stoudemire, Boneva Heflin, Clint Bartholomew Smith, and Freddie Burt Smith; and many nieces and nephews.

According to his family, a memorial service is planned and details will be announced at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, remembrances be made to the Charles Z. Smith Scholarship Fund at the University of Washington Law School, or to your favorite charity.

For more information, contact:  Lorrie Thompson, (306) 705-5347; Lorrie.Thomspon@courts.wa.gov.