Jack Smith (lawyer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jack Smith
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Smith in 2023
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| Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice | |
| In office November 18, 2022 – January 10, 2025 |
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| Appointed by | Merrick Garland |
| United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee | |
| Acting March 14, 2017 – September 21, 2017 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | David Rivera |
| Succeeded by | Donald Q. Cochran |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Luman Smith
June 5, 1969 |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse |
Katy Chevigny
(m. 2011) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education |
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| Profession | Lawyer |
John Luman Smith (born June 5, 1969) is an American lawyer. He has worked for the United States Department of Justice, helping to make sure laws are followed. He also served as a chief prosecutor at an international court in The Hague, which looked into serious events during the Kosovo War.
From November 2022 until January 2025, Jack Smith was a special counsel for the Department of Justice. A special counsel is a lawyer appointed to investigate important and sensitive matters, often independently. He was asked to look into matters related to former President Donald Trump. These included events around January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and how government documents were handled.
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Early Life & Education
Jack Smith was born on June 5, 1969. He grew up in Clay, New York, near Syracuse. His father designed air-conditioning systems, and his mother was a homemaker.
He went to Liverpool High School, where he played football and baseball. After high school, he studied political science at the State University of New York at Oneonta. He graduated in 1991 with high honors. Smith then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1994.
Jack Smith's Career as a Lawyer
After law school, Smith started working as a lawyer in New York City. He joined the United States Attorney's Office in 1999. He was known for working very hard on his cases. For example, he once waited in a hallway for a whole weekend to talk to a witness.
International Work & Public Integrity
From 2008 to 2010, Smith worked for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. There, he helped investigate cases against people accused of serious international crimes.
In 2010, Smith returned to the U.S. to lead the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section. This section handles cases involving corruption by government officials. He worked on many important cases during his five years there.
Work in Tennessee & Kosovo
In 2015, Smith became a U.S. attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. He later became the acting U.S. attorney for a short time in 2017.
In 2018, Smith was chosen to be the chief prosecutor for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. His job was to investigate events from the Kosovo War. He brought cases against several people, including the President of Kosovo at the time. He served in this role until November 2022.
Special Counsel Role
On November 18, 2022, the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel. This meant he would oversee important investigations.
He looked into matters related to former President Donald Trump. These included events around the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack and how government records were handled at Trump's Florida home. Smith initially worked from the Netherlands while recovering from an injury. He returned to the U.S. in early 2023.
In June 2023, a group of citizens (a grand jury) looked at information about the handling of government documents. In August 2023, another grand jury looked at information about the 2020 presidential election.
In July 2024, a judge ended the government documents case. In November 2024, a judge also ended the election-related case. Jack Smith resigned from his special counsel role in January 2025, before Donald Trump took office. A report about the election-related case was made public.
Awards & Recognition
Jack Smith has received several awards for his work as a lawyer:
- U.S. Department of Justice Director's Award
- U.S. Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service
- Federal Bar Association's Younger Federal Attorney Award
- Eastern District Association's Charles Rose Award
- Henry L. Stimson Medal of the New York County Bar Association
- Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellowship
Personal Life
Jack Smith is a very active person and a competitive triathlete. He started swimming in his mid-thirties. He has finished over 100 triathlons and at least nine Ironman competitions around the world.
In July 2011, he married Katy Chevigny, who is a documentary filmmaker. She is known for a film called Becoming, which is about Michelle Obama. They have one daughter. The family lived in the Netherlands for a few years before moving to Washington, D.C., in December 2022.
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