Fern M. Smith
American judge
title: "Fern M. Smith" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1933-births", "living-people", "lawyers-from-san-francisco", "foothill-college-alumni", "stanford-university-alumni", "stanford-law-school-alumni", "california-state-court-judges", "judges-of-the-united-states-district-court-for-the-northern-district-of-california", "united-states-district-court-judges-appointed-by-ronald-reagan", "superior-court-judges-in-the-united-states", "20th-century-american-women-judges"] description: "American judge" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern_M._Smith" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American judge ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Fern Meyerson Smith |
| office | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California |
| term_start | May 15, 2003 |
| term_end | June 30, 2005 |
| office1 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California |
| term_start1 | July 27, 1988 |
| term_end1 | May 15, 2003 |
| appointer1 | Ronald Reagan |
| predecessor1 | Samuel Conti |
| successor1 | Seat abolished by 104 Stat. 5089 |
| birth_name | Fern Enid Meyerson |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | San Francisco, California |
| education | Foothill College (A.A.) |
| Stanford University (B.A.) | |
| Stanford Law School (J.D.) | |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = | name = Fern Meyerson Smith | honorific-suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | term_start = May 15, 2003 | term_end = June 30, 2005 | office1 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | term_start1 = July 27, 1988 | term_end1 = May 15, 2003 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = Ronald Reagan | predecessor1 = Samuel Conti | successor1 = Seat abolished by 104 Stat. 5089 | pronunciation = | birth_name = Fern Enid Meyerson | birth_date = | birth_place = San Francisco, California | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | nationality = | party = | otherparty = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | residence = | education = Foothill College (A.A.) Stanford University (B.A.) Stanford Law School (J.D.) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | religion = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = Fern Enid Meyerson Smith (born November 7, 1933) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Education and career
Born on November 7, 1933, in San Francisco, California, Smith received an Associate of Arts degree from Foothill College in 1970, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1972, and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1975. She was in private practice in San Francisco from 1975 to 1986. She was a judge of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco from 1986 to 1988. She was the Director of the Federal Judicial Center from 1999 to 2003.
Federal judicial service
Smith was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on May 9, 1988, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by Judge Samuel Conti. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1988, and received her commission on July 27, 1988. She assumed senior status on May 15, 2003. Smith served in that capacity until her retirement on June 30, 2005.
References
Sources
References
- (1989). "Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, First Session, Part 6". U.S. Government Printing Office.
- (August 9, 1953). "Nuptials on Nov. 7". The San Francisco Examiner.
- "Oral History of Fern M. Smith".
- {{FJC Bio. 2215
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