Smith, William French

• Author: Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps

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William French Smith served as U.S. attorney general from 1981 to 1985. A longtime friend

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and confidant of President RONALD REAGAN, Smith helped formulate the conservative policies that came to be identified with the Reagan administration.

Smith was born on August 26, 1917, in Wilton, New Hampshire. He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1939 and from the Harvard Law School in 1942. From 1942 to 1946, Smith served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

In 1946 Smith joined the Los Angeles law firm of Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher, one of the largest and most prominent corporate firms in California. He specialized in LABOR LAW, eventually becoming a senior partner and head of the firm's labor department. He enjoyed a reputation as a tough but flexible negotiator. He served as a director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles from 1963 to 1972.

During the 1960s Smith became active in conservative REPUBLICAN PARTY politics. During Arizona Senator BARRY M. GOLDWATER's 1964 presidential campaign, Smith met Ronald Reagan, who was working for Goldwater. Smith was impressed by Reagan's views and his political potential and was a member of a small group of southern California business leaders who urged Reagan to run for governor in 1966. After Reagan was elected governor, Smith became his personal adviser. In 1968 Reagan appointed him to the University of California Board of Regents. Smith later served three terms as chairman of the board.

Smith remained a close adviser to Reagan after he left the governorship and began his quest for the presidency. When Reagan was elected president in 1980, one of his first appointments was the naming of Smith as his attorney general.

During Smith's tenure, the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT shifted its position on a number of issues, including ABORTION, CIVIL RIGHTS, and ANTITRUST LAWS. Adhering to his conservative political views, Smith urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reassess its rulings in earlier abortion cases and to accord greater deference to states that wished to restrict abortions. The Justice Department also placed less emphasis on AFFIRMATIVE ACTION as a means of addressing past RACIAL DISCRIMINATION and on mandatory busing as a means of creating integrated public school systems. Although Smith maintained that he vigorously enforced civil rights laws, his critics argued that the department filed fewer...