Charles Z. Smith

Justice Charles Z. Smith was actively engaged in local, national, and international programs and organizations related to education, human rights, family and children, religion, health, prison reform, military justice, and racial, ethnic, and cultural awareness. He received numerous awards in recognition of his public service.

Charles Zellender Smith was born in Lakeland, Florida on February 23, 1927 to John R. and Eva Love Smith.  Charles was the third of eight children in the family. When he was 14 years old, his parents gave permission to Dr. William H. Gray, Jr., a minister and college professor, to take over responsibility for Charles’ education.  Charles left high school to live with the Gray family and enter college.  When the Gray family returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a few years later, Charles left Florida with them, and lived with the Grays until age 24.

Justice Smith is survived by his wife of 61 years, Eleanor Martinez 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.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Susie Burton and Johnsy Huff, and brother John Roy Smith. Also preceding him in death were Dr. Gray, his wife Hazel Yates Gray and their children Marian Gray Secundy, and William H. Gray, III.

Justice Smith was the first person of color to serve as a judge in Washington state when he was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Criminal Court in 1965. He was appointed to the King County Superior Court in 1966, making him the first person of color to serve at that level.  Justice Smith’s career also included serving as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County from 1956 until 1960, and Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States under Robert F. Kennedy, from 1960 until 1964. After serving on the King County Superior Court for 7 years, he left to become an Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law until 1986. That year, he also retired from the United States Marine Corps Reserve (Judge Advocate Division) with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was also a commentator for KOMO TV and radio, beginning in 1973.

Justice Smith was appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court in 1988, the first person of color to become a Justice in the state's history. He was subsequently elected to that position unopposed until his retirement in 2002 at the mandatory retirement age of 75.  In 1987, he was the founding chairperson of the Washington Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Task Force, which became the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission in 1988. He retired as co-chairperson of the Commission in 2009. In 1988 he also co-founded the organization known now as the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, and served as an elected leader of that organization for more than 15 years.

“I would like to believe that people would remember me for having a strong concept of justice for all people,” he said in an interview available on-line at the Densho project website, http://archive.densho.org/main.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://archive.densho.org/main.aspx">http://archive.densho.org/main.aspx. Additional oral history and other interview materials about Justice Smith are available at the University of Washington Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History website, http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/smith.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/smith.htm">http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/smith.htm, and the Washington State Secretary of State website, https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/stories/charles-z-smith/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/stories/charles-z-smith/">https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/stories/charles-z-smith/.  The Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law has collected information about his life and work, which is available at  http://guides.lib.uw.edu/law/memorial/charles-z-smith" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://guides.lib.uw.edu/law/memorial/charles-z-smith">http://guides.lib.uw.edu/law/memorial/charles-z-smith.

Charles Z. Smith died peacefully in his home of a heart condition on Sunday, August 28, 2016. He was 89 years old.