---
title: "D. Brooks Smith | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-brooks-smith"
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updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# D. Brooks Smith

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2002-present
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 1988-2002
- Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Blair County Pennsylvania, 1984-1988
- District attorney, Blair County, PA, 1983-1984
- Special assistant attorney general, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1981-1983
- Assistant district attorney, Blair County, PA, 1977-1979
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- The only judge in Third Circuit history to have held the role of both Chief Judge of the district court and Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals

### Education

- The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University — J.D. (1976)
- Franklin and Marshall College — B.A. (1973)

### Additional information

- Assumed senior status on December 4, 2021.
- Served until elevation in 2002.
- administrative judge, 1986-1988
- Private practice, Altoona, PA, 1976-1984
- Born: December 4, 1951, in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
- Date of birth: 1951-01-01
- Penn State Dickinson Law
- Birth place: Altoona, PA

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387941)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387941)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387941)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3003/david-brooks-smith/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3003/david-brooks-smith/)
- [Wikidata: D. Brooks Smith](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5203514)

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