Jerry Edwin Smith (born November 7, 1946) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Early life and education Born on November 7, 1946, in Del Rio, Texas, Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1969. He received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1972. Career He was a law clerk for Judge Halbert O. Woodward of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 1972 to 1973. He was in private practice of law in Houston, Texas from 1973 to 1984. He was Director of the Harris County Housing Authority from 1978 to 1980. He was a special assistant attorney general of Texas from 1981 to 1982. He was Chairman of the Houston Civil Service Commission from 1982 to 1984. He was a city attorney in Houston from 1984 to 1987. Federal judicial service Smith was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on June 2, 1987, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1987, and received commission on December 21, 1987. Notable cases Affirmative action Smith wrote the majority opinion in Hopwood v. Texas, 78 F.3d 932 (5th Cir. 1996), in which the Fifth Circuit struck down the use of affirmative action in admissions at the University of Texas School of Law. Seven years later, the decision was abrogated by the U.S. Supreme Court's 5–4 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). EPA regulation In Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA, 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991), Smith wrote the panel opinion that required the United States Environmental Protection Agency to use cost-benefit analysis when deciding whether to ban a toxic substance. 4th amendment Smith dissented in a 2004 case called United States v. Gould. A large majority of the judges ruled that a "protective sweep" of a man hiding in the woods, which included arresting him without a warrant and seizing his guns, was not a violation of the 4th amendment. Although Smith's position lost that day, 17 years later the Supreme Court would unanimously take a position similar to Smith's in Caniglia v. Strom. Securities fraud claims In Regents of the University of California v. Credit Suisse