Robert S. Smith (New York judge)
This page is about a New York Court of Appeals judge. For other officials with this name, please see Robert Smith
Robert S. Smith was a judge of the State of New York Court of Appeals, New York's court of last resort. He was appointed to the court on November 4, 2003, by former Governor George E. Pataki. His appointment was confirmed by the New York State Senate on January 12, 2004.[1] Smith, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in August 2014, retired at the end of his last term on December 31, 2014.[2][3]
Education
Smith received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1965 and his LL.B. degree from the Columbia Law School in 1968.[1]
Career
- 2003-2014: Judge, New York Court of Appeals
- 2003: Special counsel, Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard
- 1981-1990: Lecturer in law, Columbia Law School
- 1980-1981: Visiting professor from practice, Columbia Law School
- 1968-1981, 1981-2003: Attorney, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison [1]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Smith received a campaign finance score of 0.44, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of -0.24 that justices received in New York.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[4]
See also
External links
- New York State Court of Appeals
- Project Vote Smart, "Judge Robert S. Smith (NY)"
- USA Today, "Same-sex marriage fails at N.Y. court," July 7, 2006
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Court of Appeals State of New York, "Judges of the Court, Robert S. Smith," accessed December 1, 2014
- ↑ New York Law Journal, "NY Court of Appeals Judge to Seek Reappointment," April 22, 2014
- ↑ New York Law Journal, "Nominees Offered for Court of Appeals Vacancy," December 2, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
