Walter Scott Smith Jr.
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and confirmed by voice vote, Walter Scott Smith Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. He earned a law degree from Baylor University School of Law in 1966. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1940–2025
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1984
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Baylor 1964 · Baylor Law 1966
- Succeeded by
- Alan D Albright
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Western District of Texas | Reagan (R) | 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
| Baylor University | B.A. | 1964 |
| Baylor University School of Law | J.D. | 1966 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Smith was assigned 6,650 district-court cases (1987–2016). Median time from filing to termination: 202 days across 6,644 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 473 of Smith’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 396 were affirmed, 48 reversed or vacated, and 29 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 59 published opinions for the court (1985–2007). Most cited: Federal Sav. and Loan Ins. Corp. v. Locke (37 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Federal Sav. and Loan Ins. Corp. v. Locke | 718 F. Supp. 573 | 37 |
| 1994 | Armstrong v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company | 844 F. Supp. 1152 | 31 |
| 1988 | Smith v. Dainichi Kinzoku Kogyo Co., Ltd. | 680 F. Supp. 847 | 31 |
| 1991 | United Bank of Waco, N.A. v. First Republic Bank Waco, N.A. | 758 F. Supp. 1166 | 25 |
| 1994 | Bowers v. Baylor University | 862 F. Supp. 142 | 24 |
| 1996 | Myers v. King's Daughters Clinic | 912 F. Supp. 233 | 21 |
| 1990 | Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance v. Greystone III Joint Venture (In Re Greystone III Joint Venture) | 127 B.R. 138 | 20 |
| 1987 | Montoya v. Johnston | 654 F. Supp. 511 | 20 |
| 1987 | Texas Bank & Trust v. United States (In Re Sound Emporium, Inc.) | 70 B.R. 22 | 20 |
| 1995 | Quebe v. Ford Motor Co. | 908 F. Supp. 446 | 15 |
| 1990 | NCNB Texas National Bank v. Volpe (In Re Volpe) | 120 B.R. 843 | 15 |
| 1999 | Andrade v. Chojnacki | 65 F. Supp. 2d 431 | 14 |
| 1993 | Badgett v. Northwestern Resources Co. | 818 F. Supp. 998 | 14 |
| 1986 | Denham v. United States | 646 F. Supp. 1021 | 14 |
| 1987 | Manax v. McNamara | 660 F. Supp. 657 | 13 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 59 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 Walter Scott Smith Jr.?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Walter Scott Smith Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in 1984.
- Was Walter Scott Smith Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Walter Scott Smith Jr. was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Walter Scott Smith Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Walter Scott Smith Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on October 3, 1984. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Walter Scott Smith Jr. on?
- Walter Scott Smith Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
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.
31 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).