Hon. Morris G. Smith is a judge for the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. He was temporarily assigned to the position by the Hon. Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in March 2020.
Before that, Smith sat as a judge in the Vicinage 4 Superior Court in Camden County, a position to which he was appointed by former Governor Chris Christie in 2014. He was subsequently reappointed for tenure in 2021.
While in Camden County, Smith held assignments in the Civil Division (2019 to 2020), Criminal Division (2017 to 2019), and Family Division (2014 to 2017).
He has sat as a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement; the Statewide Committee of Vicinage Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (chair); and the Vicinage IV Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Committee (chair). In addition, Smith was a former member of the Vicinage IV Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative Statewide Pilot Program Committee and the Supreme Court Working Group on the Indiscriminate Shackling of Juveniles in Court.
Prior to joining the bench, he was a sole practitioner in his own private practice, the Law Office of Morris G. Smith. After opening his practice in 1998, Smith specialized in economic development, land use, and real estate matters.
His legal career also included stints as general counsel with the Philadelphia Board of Education and a solicitor for the City of Camden.
Smith received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. He went on to complete a J.D. at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.