Steven Wayne Smith (born October 26, 1961) is a Republican former Texas Supreme Court justice, who was defeated for renomination in 2004 through the active opposition of then-Governor Rick Perry.
Smith again lost – very narrowly – a bid for nomination to the court in the March 7, 2006, GOP primary, when Perry again opposed his candidacy.
A fifth-generation Texan, Smith graduated from Everman High School, which is located in south Tarrant County.
He attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he received a bachelor of business administration degree in finance, the first member of his extended family to have graduated from college.
Smith was elected to the court in 2002 by first defeating Xavier Rodriguez, an appointee of Governor Rick Perry, in the Republican primary.
Senator John Cornyn opposed Smith's candidacy and he eventually lost the primary to Green.
Dean Bill Piatt of St. Mary's blasted Smith, saying that it was inappropriate for a sitting Supreme Court justice to belittle one of the law schools in the State of Texas.
Piatt widely distributed a letter that he had written to Smith to many alumni of St. Mary's and others in the legal community.
On January 3, 2006, Smith announced that he would enter the March 7 Republican primary for Place 2 on the Texas Supreme Court.
He opposed Justice Don Willett of Austin, a Baylor and Duke University Law School graduate who was appointed to the bench in fall 2005 by Governor Perry.
In 2004, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison supported Smith's re-election, but she endorsed Willett in the 2006 race.
The San Antonio Express-News endorsed Willett, but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram backed Smith.