Patricia M. Smith, Associate Justice
2005 - Present
Patricia "Patti" Mungenast Smith is the fifth of fourteen children born to Andy
and Norma Mungenast. Her father was an officer in the United States Air Force
and, as the family traveled with military assignments, she attended elementary
schools in Canada and Colorado and high school at Montgomery Catholic High
School. She graduated with honors from Troy University in three years and was
selected the 1973 Outstanding Female Graduate by the Troy Chamber of Commerce.
Patti Smith attended law school while working at the Veteran's Administration
Regional Office in Montgomery. In 1976 she graduated from Jones Law School and
practiced law briefly in Pelham with the law firm of Bell, Johnson and Medaris.
She was hired as the first female Assistant District Attorney for the 18th
Judicial Circuit, and in 1980, she was appointed by Governor Fob James as the
District Court Judge in Shelby County. Patti Smith was elected to the bench that
same year and continued to serve as the Presiding District Court Judge in Shelby
County with re-elections in 1986, 1992 and 1998. Judge Smith is currently one of
the longest serving judges in the State of Alabama.
In 1981, Judge Smith was appointed by Governor Fob James to serve on the
Governor's Commission on Crime. In 1989, 1993 and 1998, she was appointed by
Chief Justices Hornsby and Hooper to serve as Chairman on the Commission of the
Future of the Juvenile Justice System, the Interagency Conference on Youth and
as a member of the Alabama Judicial Study Commission on Sentencing.
In Shelby County, Judge Smith helped to establish the Developing Alabama Youth
Foundation, Inc. (D.A.Y.) and the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
programs. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Alabama Department of
Youth Services, King's Ranch, Family Connection, Inc. and Shelby County Regional
Juvenile Detention Facility. Currently Judge Smith serves on the State
Department of Human Resources Quality Assurance Committee and serves as Chairman
of the Department of Human Resources Policy Review Committee. She has been a
frequent lecturer to associations of judges, probation officers and social
workers.
In 2001, Judge Smith was named the National Court Appointed Special Advocate
Judge of the Year for her innovative and long-standing commitment to issues
involving children and families.
Judge Smith has been married to
her husband, Jerry, for 29 years and they have two children, Shelley and
Jarrett.
