Inez Smith Reid facts for kids

Elsie Inez Virginia Smith Reid (born April 7, 1937) is a highly respected former judge. She served on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She was also the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia.

Inez Smith Reid was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and went to Dunbar High School. She started college at Howard University and then graduated from Tufts University. After college, she joined her twin brother, George Bundy Smith, at Yale Law School. They were the only two Black students in their class. At Yale, she lived with Eleanor Holmes Norton, who later became a delegate for D.C. She also became friends with Marian Wright Edelman.

After law school, Reid taught law in the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. She also earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Because of her race and gender, it was hard for her to find work at law firms. So, she taught at several colleges like Lehman College and Barnard College. During the time Jimmy Carter was president, Reid moved to D.C. She worked for the government, first at the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Later, she became the first Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency. From 1983 to 1986, she was the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia. After that, she joined a law firm.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton chose Reid to be a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. When she stopped being an active judge in 2011, she had written more opinions than any other judge on the court. She continued to serve as a senior judge for six more years. She fully retired on December 12, 2017.

Early Life and Education

Inez Smith and her twin brother, George Bundy Smith, were born on April 7, 1937. Their parents were Reverend Sidney R. Smith, Sr. and Beatrice Bundy, a teacher. They also had an older brother. In 1938 or 1939, their mother moved the children to Washington, D.C.. At that time, D.C. was still segregated.

The family lived with relatives in a Black community in Northeast D.C.. Reid remembers her childhood as being very supportive. It focused on church, school, and family. Even though many Black communities in D.C. had highly educated professionals, it was hard for them to find jobs because of racism. Many people with advanced degrees taught in segregated Black high schools, like Dunbar High School, where Reid went.

At Dunbar, Reid was surrounded by smart Black teachers and motivated students. She felt this created an exciting environment. Students were always reminded of those who achieved great things despite challenges. Reid learned French in elementary school and became fluent. She also studied Latin in high school.

College and Law School Years

After high school, Reid attended Howard University and then Tufts University. At Tufts, she met students from many different backgrounds for the first time. She didn't plan to become a lawyer at first. She wanted a broad education.

Reid and her twin brother were greatly influenced by the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision. This was a major moment for equal education in America. In September 1958, Reid and her brother went to the Supreme Court. They watched a case related to Brown v. Board called Aaron v. Cooper. This case was about preventing school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas. They saw Thurgood Marshall argue the case and witnessed the historic decision. This decision helped continue the integration of schools in all states. Reid graduated with high honors from Tufts in 1962.

Her brother George was studying at Yale University. In their senior year, both twins applied to Yale Law School. Even though Inez Reid got a scholarship to another law school, George encouraged her to join him at Yale. They became the only two Black students in their class at Yale Law School. Sometimes, their white classmates mistook them for janitors or office staff.

Despite these challenges, Reid remembers her time at Yale positively. She had great professors and courses. She also made new friends, like Marian Wright Edelman, who later started the Children's Defense Fund. While at Yale, Reid and her brother found funding to travel to Africa. They went with an organization called Operations Crossroads Africa. This group helped young people spend a summer in Africa building schools in newly independent countries.

Reid felt her summer in Guinea was very important. She saw connections between the struggles of newly freed Africans and African Americans living under Jim Crow laws in the Southern United States. Inspired by what she saw in Africa and in the American South, Reid joined her twin brother at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund for three summers.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Reid continued her education. She earned a master's degree from UCLA in political science. She also got a PhD in government and public law from Columbia University in 1968. Later, in 2004, she earned another law degree (LLM) from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Career Highlights

Teaching in Congo and the U.S.

After Yale Law School, Reid didn't have a job right away. She received a special fellowship and joined a master's program at UCLA. There, she studied political science with a focus on African studies. The next year, she became a professor in Congo-Leopoldville at a law school. Her job was to teach students who were training to become judges. Reid taught in French during a difficult time in Congo. She worked with European professors who sometimes didn't respect her American education. In Africa, just like in other places, Reid faced racism and had to prove herself.

Her teaching experience and the limited job options for Black law graduates led Judge Reid to a career in education. She taught for twelve years, starting in 1964. She taught African studies and political science at various universities. These included Hunter College, Lehman College, Brooklyn College, and Barnard College. She also taught at the University of Virginia School of Law and American University. Besides law, Reid taught political science and African studies. She also wrote articles about constitutional law, African-American studies, African studies, and environmental law.

Government Service

While teaching at Barnard College in the 1970s, her brother encouraged her to use her law degree in other ways. Reid took a break from teaching to work for the New York State government in 1976.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter's administration asked her to join the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Later, in 1979, she became the first Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the EPA, Reid was in charge of checking the agency's programs and rules. Her main goals were to make government programs more efficient and to prevent waste or fraud.

When President Reagan was elected, Reid and other Inspector Generals were let go. In 1981, Reid started working for the District of Columbia. She became chief of a section in the office of the Corporation Counsel. This office is now called the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. It represents the city in legal cases.

Mayor Marion Barry chose Reid to be the new Corporation Counsel on September 15, 1983. She was in charge of all the official legal matters for the District. She supervised about 200 employees and managed a budget of $6.2 million.

Private Law Practice and Judicial Career

In 1985, Judge Reid took a year off from her role as Corporation Counsel to teach law. In 1986, she left the Corporation Counsel's office to join a private law firm. There, she used her experience from the EPA to work on environmental law cases. She also worked on other types of cases, including appeals. Reid worked at several other law firms as well.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton nominated Reid to be a judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She replaced another judge who had moved to a different court. Her twin brother, George Bundy Smith, who was also a judge, swore her in.

In 2010, a legal journal reported that Reid was the most productive judge on the court. She had written 85 legal opinions over four years. She was known for her thoughtful and detailed work.

In 2010, Judge Reid was one of five judges who supported a decision about a public vote on a law. The court decided that the D.C. Board of Elections acted correctly when it rejected a group's request for a public vote on a local law.

Reid retired from active service on the appeals court on April 2, 2011. She continued to serve as a senior judge for six more years. She fully retired on December 12, 2017.

Honors and Awards

Inez Smith Reid has received many awards for her important work:

• 2011 Stars of the Bar Award from the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia
• Pro Bono Equal Rights Award from the Washington Committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc.
• Ollie May Cooper Award from the Washington Bar Association
• Emily Gregory Award, Barnard Teaching College Awards, 1976
• 2012 Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit from the Washington Bar Association
• Hero in Law 2008 Award at the Annual Olender Foundation Awards

See also

• List of female state attorneys general in the United States

Sources

• Nominations of Inez Smith Reid, Linda Kay Davis, Ronna Lee Beck, and Eric Tyson Washington : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate
• Environmental Protection Agency Nomination of Inez Smith Reid To Be Inspector General