[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1321-E1322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMEMORATING THE PASSING OF CHARLES Z. SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2016

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to my friend 
Justice Charles Z. Smith, of Seattle, Washington, who passed away at 
the age of 89 on Sunday, August 28, 2016. Charles was the first African 
American state trial judge and Supreme Court justice of Washington 
State. He was a role model to many, and leaves a trailblazing legacy of 
social justice and public service.
   Charles Zellender Smith was born in Florida in 1927 to an African-
American mother who was the daughter of slaves and a Cuban immigrant 
father. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, 
he attended Temple University and graduated in 1952. Charles moved to 
Seattle and was accepted to the University of Washington Law School. 
Out of a class of 120, he was the only student of color to graduate in 
1955.
   His career was a series of firsts: unable to find a law firm to hire 
him after he graduated, he became the first African-American law clerk 
for a state Supreme Court justice. In 1965, he became the first 
African-American to serve as a Seattle municipal court judge, and in 
1966, he was the first person of color named to the King County 
Superior Court bench.
   He stepped down to become a professor and associate dean of law at 
the University of Washington, during which he began a long fight for 
reparations for Japanese Americans interned in camps during World War 
II. Later, in private practice, he urged the Seattle City Council to 
declare the city a ``sanctuary city'' for refugees from Guatemala and 
El Salvador.
   In 1988, Gov. Booth Gardner appointed Smith to the State Supreme 
Court and he served until his retirement in 2002. He was known as a 
thoughtful judge with a reputation for fairness and often was the swing 
vote in split decisions. From the bench, he spoke eloquently, without 
notes, and often advocated for immigrant rights and innovative criminal 
rehabilitation methods.
   As well as serving on the Washington State Supreme Court, Justice 
Smith was a television commentator and president of the American 
Baptist Churches. In 1999, while still on the Court, President Bill 
Clinton appointed him to serve on the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom, where he helped develop policies 
promoting religious freedom and ending the civil war in Sudan.
   Mr. Speaker, Justice Smith worked tirelessly for over five decades 
as an advocate for truth, justice and freedom. He broke down barriers 
and forged a path for generations to follow. He will be greatly missed.

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