The Honorable Jock Smith
Attorney, law professor, municipal court judge, and trial lawyer Jock Michael Smith was born on June 10, 1948, in New York City to Betty Lou Nance Bowers and Jacob Smith. Despite the untimely death of his father in 1956, Smith still excelled academically, receiving his B.S. degree from Tuskegee University in 1970 and his J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame’s Law School on May 20, 1973.
After receiving his law degree, Smith then became a legal advisor to the NAACP’s Civil Rights Project in Broome County, New York. A year later, Smith moved to Alabama, and in 1977, he became the assistant attorney general for Montgomery, Alabama. That same year, Smith opened his own law firm in Tuskegee, Alabama where he represented plaintiffs and defendants in both criminal and civil suits until 1998. In 1987, Smith became a city municipal judge in Camp Hill, Alabama, and spent two years on the bench. In 1990, he became County Attorney in Macon County, Alabama. He represented the county in all legal matters for fifteen years. In 1993, Smith worked as an administrative law judge for Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management. The following year, he founded Scoring For Life, Inc., a non-profit organization that encourages teens, children and adults with motivational messages. In 1997, Smith became a principal stockholder and sports agent for Cochran Sports Management while working alongside Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. A year later, Smith joined Cochran at the firm of Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith, P.C. in Tuskegee, Alabama as a senior partner. In 1999, he also became a play-by-play announcer for Tuskegee University's Tiger Football and the Tuskegee Community Network. In addition to his legal career, Smith also taught at State University of New York at Binghamton and Tuskegee Institute.
Smith has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates of Divinity Degrees from the Pentecostal Bible College, Tuskegee, Alabama and the Montgomery Bible Institute and Theological Center, Montgomery, Alabama, and keys to the cities of New Orleans, Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee and Flint, Michigan. He has been recognized by the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association for tireless dedication and unwavering commitment, inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and received the Inaugural Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Journey to Justice Award in 2005 at the National Bar Association Convention. "The Martindale-Hubbell" legal publication has given Smith its highest rating, the AV Rating, and "Lawdragon" Legal Magazine in Los Angeles, California selected him as one of America’s Top 500 Trial Litigators in 2006 and 2007. Smith was inducted onto the President’s Advisory Council of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), making him the first African American to serve on that board. In 2002, he published his autobiography entitled, "Climbing Jacob’s ladder: a Trial Lawyer’s Journey in Behalf of the ‘Least of These’."
Jock Smith passed away on January 8, 2012.
Jock Smith was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 5, 2007.
A2007.245
Male
9/5/2007
Smith
Married
Michael
Andrew Jackson High School
P.S. 15 Jackie Robinson School
I.S. 59 Springfield Gardens
Tuskegee University
Norte Dame Law School
Jock
New York
SMI20
Summer
Sylvia Dale Cochran
New York
New York, New York, Las Vegas
Civility Is Never A Sign Of Weakness And Sincerity Is Always Subject To Scrutiny.

Alabama
6/10/1948
Tuskegee
USA
Crab Legs
1/8/2012
Law professor, attorney, and municipal court judge The Honorable Jock Smith (1948 - 2012 ) was senior partner at Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith, P.C. in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was a former judge for the State of Alabama and wrote his autobiography entitled "Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: a Trial Lawyer’s Journey in Behalf of the ‘Least of These’."
United States Customs Court
Police Youth Involvement Program
Urban League of South Bend and St. Joseph County
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Civil Rights Project
State University of New York at Binghamton
Tuskegee University
State of Alabama
Camphill Communities of North America
Law offices of Jock M. Smith
Alabama Department of Environmental Management
Macon County
Scoring for Life, Inc.
National Law firm of Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith, P.C.
Tuskegee Community Network
Cochran Sports Management

Green
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557817">Tape: 1 Slating of The Honorable Jock Smith's interview</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557818">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith lists his favorites</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557819">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his mother's upbringing</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557820">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his mother's family background</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557821">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his maternal grandmother</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557822">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his relationship with his father</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557823">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his father's death</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557824">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes lessons from his father</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557825">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his father's education</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557826">Tape: 1 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his mother's personality and his likeness to her</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557827">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his paternal grandmother</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557828">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about his paternal uncles</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557829">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his father's U.S. military service</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557830">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith explains the origin of his name</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557831">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes how his parents met</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557832">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his father as a young man</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557833">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his father's life in New York City</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557834">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his earliest childhood memory</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557835">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his neighbors on Nashville Boulevard in Queens, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557836">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557837">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers P.S. 15 in Queens, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557838">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his childhood activities</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557839">Tape: 2 The Honorable Jock Smith describes the demographics of his schools in Queens, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557840">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers J.H.S. 59, Springfield Gardens School in Queens, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557841">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his experiences at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557842">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his decision to attend the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557843">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his experiences at the Tuskegee Institute</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557844">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith describes what he learned at Tuskegee Institute</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557845">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his classmates at the Tuskegee Institute</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557846">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about Tuskegee Institute President Luther Foster, Jr.</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557847">Tape: 3 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his medical exemption from the draft</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557848">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his academic success at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557849">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his extracurricular activities at the Tuskegee Institute</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557850">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers Gwendolyn Patton</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557851">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his decision to attend law school</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557852">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls how he paid for his undergraduate tuition</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557853">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers working for Judge James Watson</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557854">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his experiences of discrimination at the University of Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Indiana</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557855">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his graduation from the University of Notre Dame Law School</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557856">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about his experiences of racism</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557857">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls working for the Urban League of South Bend and St. Joseph County</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557858">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls working for the NAACP in Binghamton, New York</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557859">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers teaching law at the Tuskegee Institute</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557860">Tape: 4 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls joining the State of Alabama Office of the Attorney General</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557861">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his judgeships</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557862">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers the case of the State of Alabama v. Donell Williams</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557863">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his historic victory in an insurance fraud case, pt. 1</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557864">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls his historic victory in an insurance fraud case, pt. 2</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557865">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls protecting a client from wrongful eviction</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557866">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about his motivation as a lawyer</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557867">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers his recommitment to Christianity</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557868">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers joining the Christian Life Church in Montgomery, Alabama</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557869">Tape: 5 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers meeting Johnnie Cochran</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557870">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers meeting Keith Givens and Sam Cherry</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557871">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers establishing the law firm of Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557872">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith recalls the case of Tolbert v. Monsanto Company</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557873">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers Johnnie Cochran</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557874">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers Robert Jeter et al. v. Orkin Exterminating Company, Inc., pt. 1</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557875">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers Robert Jeter et al. v. Orkin Exterminating Company, Inc., pt. 2</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557876">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers representing Carolyn Whittaker</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557877">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith reflects upon his awards and influences</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557878">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about the law firm of Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557879">Tape: 6 The Honorable Jock Smith remembers meeting his second wife</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557880">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his wife, Yvette Smiley-Smith</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557881">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his daughter, Janay Smith</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557882">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about Cochran Sports Management, LLC</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557883">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about his collection of historical artifacts</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557884">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about the significance of sports history</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557885">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith talks about writing his autobiography</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557886">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith describes his concerns for the African American community</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557887">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith reflects upon his legacy</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557888">Tape: 7 The Honorable Jock Smith shares a message to future generations</a>
<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/557889">Tape: 8 The Honorable Jock Smith narrates his photographs</a>
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