Associate Justice Kent B. Smith
Kent B. Smith was born in Burlington, Vermont, on March 11, 1927. After receiving a B.A. from American International College, he attended Boston University School of Law, from which he graduated in 1951. While at the Law School he was named Associate Editor of the Law Review. From 1953 to 1972 he was in private practice in Springfield, handling civil and criminal matters. In August of 1954 he became the first attorney appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants in Western Massachusetts. In 1972 he was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Francis Sargent. He served on that court until 1981, when he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Appeals Court by Governor Edward King. He took his seat on April 23, 1981. After reaching mandatory retirement age in 1997, he has remained with the Appeals Court as a Recall Justice. Justice Smith is the author of Criminal Practice and Procedure, a three-volume work in the popular Massachusetts Practice series. That work has been issued in three editions, and more than twenty supplements, since its original publication in 1970. It has been cited as a respected authority by State and Federal courts more than 200 times. Justice Smith was awarded an honorary LL.D. from American International College and is a two-time recipient of the St. Thomas More Award.