Background
Smith, Chesterfield Harvey was born on July 28, 1917 in Arcadia, Florida, United States. Son of Cook Hall and Grace (Gilbert) Smith.
Smith, Chesterfield Harvey was born on July 28, 1917 in Arcadia, Florida, United States. Son of Cook Hall and Grace (Gilbert) Smith.
Juris Doctor, University Florida, 1948. Doctor of Laws (honorary), University Florida, 1972. Doctor of Laws (honorary), John B. Stetson University, 1972.
Doctor of Laws (honorary), Suffolk University, 1973. Doctor of Laws (honorary), Norwich University, 1973. Doctor of Laws (honorary), Akron University, 1973.
Doctor of Laws (honorary), Western State University College Law, 1977. HHD (honorary), St. Leo College, 1974. Data Control Language (honorary), Jacksonville University, 1975.
Doctor of Laws (honorary), St. Thomas University, 1987.
He founded the law firm Holland & Knight and served as president of the American Bar Association in 1973-1974, during the Watergate scandal. In 1940, he was called to active duty, eventually serving with the Third United States Army in France during World War II. Following his discharge, Smith enrolled at the University of Florida Law School, paying his tuition with money earned from gambling on the transport back from Europe after the war. Soon after graduating from law school, Smith joined Holland, Bevis & McRae, a Bartow, Florida law firm that eventually became Holland & Knight.
Smith gained early notoriety representing Florida's phosphate industry, and in 1964 was named president of the Florida Bar. In 1965, Smith was appointed chairman of the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, and was named Distinguished Floridian of the Year by the Florida Chamber of Commerce for his efforts to revise the Florida Constitution. While serving as President of the American Bar Association he became an outspoken critic of the Richard Nixon and advocated for the congressional reappointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate affair, although Smith had earlier supported Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns.
Smith's statement following the Saturday Night Massacre that "no man is above the law" drew national headlines and the ire of Nixon supporters. Smith, though conveying the persona of a folksy Southerner, was an aggressive reformer. He overhauled the Florida Constitution, giving more representation to growing urban parts of the state at the expense of rural areas who sought to preserve power not reflected by their population share.
As ABA president, he urged reforms not only to the structure of that organization, but to the entire American legal system. He spoke out against segregation in the 1950s, and against criminal penalties for marijuana possession in the 1960s. Following his term as ABA President, Smith focused his attention on growing Holland & Knight from a regional Florida firm into one with a national presence.
The firm currently has over 1100 lawyers in 17 U.S., 2 international and 2 representative offices. In 1998, Smith became the 12th person honored by the Florida governor as a "Great Floridian." On September 21, 2006, the University of Florida Levin College of Law dedicated the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom in Smith's memory.
The Covenant is the means of grace by which the relationship with God is accepted and then sustained. It is therefore not so much about getting in to a relationship with God as it is about staying in it.
Social norms that assume different standards for women than for men in marriage are outdated and should be rejected. Laws in civil society should define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The family is encompassing a wider range of options than that of the two-generational unit of parents and children.
Member county advisers U. Florida. Associate trustee University of Pennsylvania Law School, board overseers, 1978-1986. Member board visitors U. Miami School Law, since 1982, McGeorge School Law, since 1987.
Vice-chairman national advisory county American Civil Liberties Union, since 1983. Member of advisory board League of Women Voters Florida, since 1984. Trustee National Foundation for Advancement in Arts, since 1984, chairman, 1988-1990.
Trustee Florida Network of Youth and Family Superior vena cava syndrome, since 1988. Board directors Shriver Peace Worker Progressive, since 1986, The International Leaguefor Human Rights, 1984, Florida Future Farmers of America Foundation, since 1988. Major United States Army, 1940-1945, European Theatre of Operations.
Fellow International Academy Trial Lawyers, American College Trial Lawyers, American Bar Foundation. Member American Bar Association (house of deals since 1966, state delegate 1968-1970, Board of Governors 1969-1970, 72-75, president 1973-1974, American Bar Association Medal award 1981), Florida Bar Association (Board of Governors 1958-1965, chairman continuing legal education 1961-1962, president 1964-1965, center committee 1962-1964), 10th Judicial Circuit Bar Association (president 1956-1957), National Conference Bar President's (Executive Committee 1965-1970, vice president 1967-1968, president 1968-1969), American Law Institute, Institute Judicial Administration, National Legal Aid and Defender Association (chairman membership for state and local bar associations 1969-1971,director since 1971, Arthur von Briesen award 1974), American Judicature Society (director 1965-1972, Executive Committee 1969-1972, Herbert Lincoln Harley award 1973), U. Florida Law Center Association (trustee 1963), Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation Inc. (trustee since 1985), Florida Supreme Court History Society (president 1987-1989, trustee, since 1986), Supreme Court of the United States Court History Society (trustee-), Florida Blue Key, Order of Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Delta Phi, Phi Kappa Phi.
Son of; married Vivian Lee Parker, January 29, 1944 (deceased February 1987). Children: Rhoda Smith Kibler, Chesterfield Harvey Junior. Married Jacqueline Pearce Allee, July 25, 1987.