Bill 1237

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    1237
Type of Legislation:            Concurrent Resolution CR
Introducing Body:               Senate
Introduced Date:                19980513
Primary Sponsor:                Russell 
All Sponsors:                   Russell 
Drafted Document Number:        bbm\9900jm.98
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19980519
Subject:                        Judge Ellen Hines Smith,
                                Resolutions

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

Senate  19980519  Received from House
House   19980514  Introduced, adopted, returned
                  with concurrence
Senate  19980513  Introduced, adopted, sent to House

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

EXPRESSING PROFOUND SORROW AT THE DEATH OF JUDGE ELLEN HINES SMITH OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY, ONE OF THE LEADING CITIZENS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, AND EXTENDING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HER FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS.

Whereas, Judge Ellen Hines Smith of Spartanburg County, founder of Piedmont Legal Services and a fifteen-year member of Spartanburg City Council, died Sunday, April 26, 1998, at the age of fifty-eight; and

Whereas, graveside services for Judge Smith were held Wednesday, April 29, 1998, at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Spartanburg, conducted by the Reverend Dr. Clay H. Turner with members of the Spartanburg County Bar Association serving as honorary escort; and

Whereas, Judge Smith was a native of Spartanburg, was the first woman elected to the City Council, and was the first woman to become a judge in Spartanburg County; and

Whereas, Judge Smith obtained much personal satisfaction from helping other people; the agency she founded, Piedmont Legal Services, provides free civil legal assistance to thousands of economically disadvantaged Upstate residents who otherwise could not afford this help also, one of her causes in the mid 1980's was affordable housing; she crusaded for the creation of the Spartanburg Residential Development Corporation, a public-private partnership that helped people become homeowners; this corporation included the City of Spartanburg, real estate brokers, bankers, and home builders, and Judge Smith was the corporation's first chairman; and

Whereas, she was the only woman in her class at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was salutatorian upon graduating; she was the former chief judge of the Spartanburg County Criminal and Civil Court; the Piedmont Legal Service Center on East Main Street in Spartanburg and the Spartanburg Girls House were renamed in her honor; she received numerous local, state, and national awards for her work, including the prestigious Kutak-Dodds Prize, which honors a legal services lawyer, a public defender, or a public interest lawyer who enhances the quality of life in the community; and

Whereas, she was widely respected and admired as an outstanding and conscientious lawyer and as a good and caring person; and

Whereas, Ellen Hines Smith touched the lives of thousands of individuals; she truly made her mark in this world and left a legacy of compassion, dedication, hard work, and vision; she will be greatly missed. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, expresses profound sorrow at the death of Judge Ellen Hines Smith of Spartanburg County, one of the leading citizens of South Carolina, and extends deepest sympathy to her family and many friends.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to judge Smith's family.