Judge Clinton Smith, Jr.

section A

Phone Number: (504) 658-9505 Email: dist_opjc_sectiona@nola.gov

Clint Smith is a 1982 graduate of Morehouse College where he received a B.A. in History.  An honor graduate, Clint was a member of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, President of Morehouse History Club, a Student Council Representative, and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

After graduating from Morehouse, Clint attended Tulane University School of Law where he was the 1987 Merit Award Recipient of the Maurice Hirsch Award from the Law League of Louisiana, President of the Public Interest Law Foundation, and a member of the Black Law Students Association. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1987.

Clint has been recognized for his excellence as a legal scholar. While in law school Clint was offered a prestigious federal court externship and was then named a law clerk for the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation, representing underrepresented and indigent defenders. Upon graduation from law school, he served as the judicial law clerk for the Honorable Revius Ortique, Jr.

Clint has practiced broadly across many areas of the law, including corporate general counsel experience. He is a member of both the state bar and federal bar, has served as Judge Pro Tempore for Orleans Parish Traffic Court and Ad Hoc Judge in Juvenile Court.  He was also appointed Administrative Law Judge for the Aviation Board and has served on the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He made partner at Bryan & Jupiter, helped found Roby and Smith, and was a partner at Ungarino & Eckert.  He commenced his private practice in 2004 after receiving a life-saving kidney transplant. Clint was elected Judge of Juvenile Court, Sec. “A” in November 2020.

Clint has a genuine commitment to his faith, family, and community. He serves on the boards of the Legacy Donor Foundation, the Louisiana Affiliate of the National Kidney Foundation, the Faith & Marriage Advisory Board, Willwoods Community, and has served as a board member of the Audubon Commission and the New Orleans Soccer Association. Clint is a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and Sigma Pi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. (Boule’).

In addition to helping raise and mentor his two sons, Clint has mentored all his adult life. He has served as an adult member and volunteer for Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America. He has mentored in the Archdiocese Isaiah 43, and Omega Psi Phi programs. He is active in the Boule’s social actions program and as a mentor and speaker for the Silverback Society.

Often an abrupt change in life can force a re-evaluation of priorities, and that happened for Clint when he underwent a successful kidney transplant. He renewed his emphasis on family and community and found a deepened sense of the blessings of his life and the obligation to give back to the community.

Clint is married to Sheryl, a physician, and they have three adult children. Clint, III, a nationally acclaimed author, writer, and poet, Jesse Smith Thomas, Partnership Marketing Coordinator at New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, and Talmon Smith, reporter and editor for The New York Times. Still an avid athlete and sports fan, Clint works out daily and is a fan of football as well as soccer. To this day, if the Saints are playing, you know where you will find Clint – in his seats at the Superdome or in front of a TV cheering on the black and gold.