Lavenski Smith


Lavenski R. "Vence" Smith is an American judge, who is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He previously served as an Arkansas state judge, and has been a federal judge since 2002.

Education

Smith, a lifelong Arkansan, is a native of Hope, Arkansas, and graduated from Hope High School. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Arkansas in 1981, and a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1987.

Career

Before joining the federal bench, Smith worked in both private practice and public service. Notably, Governor Mike Huckabee had appointed Smith as an Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court as well as a Commissioner on the Arkansas Public Service Commission. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 1998. Smith had also been an assistant professor at John Brown University and an Executive Director of the Rutherford Institute.

Federal judicial service

He was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2001 and was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 15, 2002 by voice vote. He has been Chief Judge since March 11, 2017.