Charles Lynwood Smith Jr.
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1995 and confirmed by voice vote, Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He earned a law degree from University of Alabama School of Law in 1971. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1943 · age 83
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1995
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Alabama 1966 · University of Alabama Law 1971
- Succeeded
- Elbert Bertram Haltom Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Liles Clifton Burke
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Northern District of Alabama succeeded Elbert Bertram Haltom Jr. | Clinton (D) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Alabama | B.A. | 1966 |
| Rutgers University | M.A. | 1967 |
| University of Alabama School of Law | J.D. | 1971 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Smith was assigned 4,916 district-court cases (1975–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 233 days across 4,813 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 163 of Smith’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 133 were affirmed, 18 reversed or vacated, and 12 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Smith authored 39 published opinions for the court (1996–2011). Most cited: Sprint Spectrum L.P. v. Jefferson County (31 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sprint Spectrum L.P. v. Jefferson County | 968 F. Supp. 1457 | 31 |
| 2009 | Thomas v. Allen | 614 F. Supp. 2d 1257 | 25 |
| 2001 | In Re Soliman | 134 F. Supp. 2d 1238 | 16 |
| 1999 | Williams v. Pryor | 41 F. Supp. 2d 1257 | 16 |
| 1998 | Greffey v. State of Ala. Dept. of Corrections | 996 F. Supp. 1368 | 14 |
| 2004 | McCloud v. Homeside Lending | 309 F. Supp. 2d 1335 | 10 |
| 2002 | Williams v. Pryor | 220 F. Supp. 2d 1257 | 10 |
| 1997 | Dollar v. Shoney's, Inc. | 981 F. Supp. 1417 | 8 |
| 2003 | Fitzgerald v. Bestway Services, Inc. | 284 F. Supp. 2d 1311 | 7 |
| 1996 | Roberts v. Beaulieu of America, Inc. | 950 F. Supp. 1509 | 7 |
| 2011 | ALABAMA EDUCATION ASS'N v. Bentley | 788 F. Supp. 2d 1283 | 6 |
| 2006 | Ishler v. Commissioner | 442 F. Supp. 2d 1189 | 6 |
| 1997 | Hayes Ex Rel. Estate of Billarreal v. Luckey | 33 F. Supp. 2d 987 | 6 |
| 2010 | Hall v. Thomas | 753 F. Supp. 2d 1113 | 5 |
| 2010 | Beam v. McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Inc. | 697 F. Supp. 2d 1267 | 5 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 39 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Charles Lynwood Smith Jr.?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in 1995.
- Was Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Charles Lynwood Smith Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on December 22, 1995. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. on?
- Charles Lynwood Smith Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).