Walter I. Smith

Summary

Walter Inglewood Smith (July 10, 1862 – January 27, 1922) was a United States representative from Iowa and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit.

Walter I. Smith
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
In office
January 31, 1911 – January 27, 1922
Appointed byWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byWillis Van Devanter
Succeeded byWilliam S. Kenyon
Judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit
In office
January 31, 1911 – December 31, 1911
Appointed byWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byWillis Van Devanter
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 9th district
In office
December 3, 1900 – March 15, 1911
Preceded bySmith McPherson
Succeeded byWilliam R. Green
Personal details
Born
Walter Inglewood Smith

(1862-07-10)July 10, 1862
Council Bluffs, Iowa
DiedJanuary 27, 1922(1922-01-27) (aged 59)
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Resting placeFairview Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Political partyRepublican
Educationread law

Education and career edit

Born in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Smith attended the common schools.[1] He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1882 and practiced in Council Bluffs until 1890.[1] He served as Judge of the fifteenth judicial district of Iowa from 1890 to 1900.[1]

Congressional service edit

Smith was elected as a Republican to the 56th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Smith McPherson and on the same day was elected to the 57th United States Congress.[2] He was reelected to the 58th United States Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from December 3, 1900, to March 15, 1911, when he resigned to accept an appointment on the bench.[2][3]

Federal judicial service edit

Smith was nominated by President William Howard Taft on January 17, 1911, to a joint seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Willis Van Devanter.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 1911, and received his commission the same day.[1] On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals.[2] His service terminated on January 27, 1922, due to his death in Council Bluffs.[1] He was interred in Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Walter Inglewood Smith at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ a b c d "Walter Inglewood Smith". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  3. ^ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. p. 33. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

Sources edit

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 9th congressional district

1900–1911
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit
1911
Succeeded by
Seat abolished
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
1911–1922
Succeeded by