Smith, Jerry E. (Jerry Edwin), 1946-

Noted Texas attorney James Edwin Smith, who won a U.S. Supreme Court case striking down an election primary system that excluded black voters, was born in Sonora, Texas on October 18, 1911. He ran for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas in 1958, as a member of the Democratic Party. Publicity photographs for this campaign were taken by Russell Lee. Smith lived and worked in Houston for much of his life. He died on Feburary 1, 2001.

From the guide to the J. Edwin Smith Collection, 1958-1992, (Southwestern Writers Collection, Special Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos)