Smith, Charles Z. 1927-

Charles Z. Smith was born in Lakeland, Florida in 1927. He graduated from Temple University in 1952 and from the University of Washington School of Law in 1955. He served as a law clerk for Washington Supreme Court Justice Matthew W. Hill in 1955; as a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County from 1956 to 1960; and as a special assistant to United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy from 1960 to 1964. His career included service as a judge of the Seattle Municipal Court from 1965 to 1966 and as a judge of the King County Superior Court from 1966 to 1973. He was associate dean and professor of law at the University of Washington and retired in 1983 as professor emeritus. He was a news commentator for KOMO Radio and Television from 1973 to 1979 and retired from the United States Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1986. Smith served as director of research for the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) in 1981. In July of 1988, Governor Booth Gardner of Washington State appointed Smith to the Supreme Court. He retired on December 31, 2002.