---
title: "Justin Daniel Smith | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/justin-daniel-smith"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Justin Daniel Smith

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

## Profile

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

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- American judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since June 18, 2026
- 2024–2026: Partner, James Otis Law Group, St. Louis, MO — also held the role of Trump’s personal lawyer and co-authored legal arguments in Trump v
- First assistant attorney general, 2021-2023
- Assistant attorney general, State of Missouri, 2019-2023
- 2019–2023: Prosecutor in Missouri Attorney General’s Office, in various leadership roles
- Deputy attorney general for special litigation, 2019-2021
- Assistant deputy attorney general for special litigation, 2019
- General counsel, Missouri Department of Agriculture, 2018-2019
- Deputy counsel, Office of the Governor, State of Missouri, 2017-2018
- 2008–2016: Associate, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, MO (civil litigation, regulatory law)
- Interned in 2010 with Judge Nanette Kay Laughrey, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

### Education

- University of Missouri School of Law, magna cum laude — J.D. (2010)
- University of Missouri–Kansas City, summa cum laude — B.A. (2007)

### Additional information

- Nominated by: President Donald J. Trump on March 2, 2026, to succeed Judge William Duane Benton, who had taken senior status.
- Commissioned: June 18, 2026.
- Committee hearing: April 15, 2026, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where questions were raised about his prior role as Trump’s personal lawyer.
- Senate confirmation: June 15, 2026, by a 48–43 vote.
- Private practice, St. Louis, Missouri, 2023-2026
- 2023: Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt.
- Acting general counsel, 2020-2021
- 2017–2018: Deputy Counsel, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.
- Private practice, Kansas City, Missouri, 2008-2016
- Secondee, Pfizer Inc., New York City, 2013-2014
- Born 1985 in Des Moines, Iowa.
- United States on presidential immunity.
- Panel activity: Recorded participation in Congressman Robert Onder v.
- ABA rating: Qualified.
- Smith’s prior close legal work for President Trump, including representing him in high-profile cases, was a subject of scrutiny during his nomination hearings.
- Despite this, the Senate confirmed him, and he has since been active on the Eighth Circuit bench.

## 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/13762133)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762133)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762133)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [Smith, Justin Daniel](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762133)

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