The following bio is that of an event speaker or guest author. This person is not directly affiliated with the John Locke Foundation.
He is the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He has also held academic appointments at Princeton University, West Virginia University, Bowling Green State University, and George Mason University. He is a cum laudegraduate of both Kalamazoo College and Harvard Law School.
From June 2000 until August 2005, Professor Smith served as Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, including as Vice Chairman in 2003 and Chairman in 2004.
Professor Smith has been identified as one of the most cited legal scholars in the field of election law, with a particular emphasis on campaign finance. He is the author or co-author of three books on election law, most notably Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform (Princeton University Press 2001), and dozens of articles in leading academic journals. His work has been cited on multiple occasions in Supreme Court opinions pertaining to campaign finance.