Ninth Circuit Names Bankruptcy Judge Erithe Smith to New Term

Thursday, October 18, 2007

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Ninth Circuit Names Bankruptcy Judge Erithe Smith to New Term

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed Bankruptcy Judge Erithe A. Smith to a second 14-year term on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.

Smith’s new term will begin May 2 of next year, a spokersperson for the circuit executive said yesterday.

Smith, 50, currently serves in the court’s Santa Ana Division. She was first appointed to the court in 1994 and served in the Los Angeles Division

She also recently completed three years of service on the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, which hears appeals of bankruptcy decisions from courts in the nine western states that make up the circuit.

“Judge Smith has performed admirably and is an asset to her court,” said Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder. “I am pleased to announce her reappointment.”

Smith received her undergraduate degree in 1979 from Loyola Marymount University and her law degree in 1982 from the Boalt Hall School of Law. She was a law clerk to Justice Marcus M. Kaufman while he served on the California Court of Appeal from 1982 to 1983, and to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter M. Elliott of the Central District from 1983 to 1985.

After clerking, she entered private practice as an associate with the law firm of McKittrick, Jackson, DeMarco & Peckenpaugh in Newport Beach, and in 1987 joined the firm of Lobel Winthrop & Broker where she became a partner prior to her appointment to the bench.

Judges of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals have statutory responsibility for selecting and appointing bankruptcy judges within the circuit.

Bankruptcy judges serve a 14-year, renewable term, at a salary of $151,984, and handle all bankruptcy-related matters under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California is one of the busiest bankruptcy courts in the nation. It is authorized 24 judges, and in 2006 received 17,802 bankruptcy filings.