A Friendship That Changed Washington State Law: Robert F. Utter and Charles Z. Smith

A simple act of friendship in 1955 helped launch the career of Charles Z. Smith and changed the course of Washington's legal history. Discover how two UW Law graduates helped shape the state's highest court.

Few graduates of the University of Washington School of Law have left a deeper imprint on Washington's legal landscape than Justices Robert F. Utter, J.D. ’54, and Charles Z. Smith, J.D. ’55. Each became a towering figure on the Washington Supreme Court: Utter emerged as one of the nation's leading thinkers on state constitutional law and civil liberties, while Smith broke barriers as a judge, educator and champion of diversity within the legal profession.

Yet long before they served together on the state's highest court, their lives intersected in a way that altered the course of Washington’s legal history.

The story begins in the mid-1950s at UW Law. Utter graduated in 1954 and immediately began clerking for Washington Supreme Court Justice Matthew Hill. A year later, Charles Z. Smith earned his law degree. He was the only Black graduate in the class of 1955.

Despite excellent academic credentials and military service, Smith encountered a reality that many talented lawyers of color faced during that era: no law firm would hire him. Not one firm was willing to grant him an interview.

Discouraged and uncertain about his future, Smith considered leaving the United States altogether. His father was Cuban, his wife, Elie Martinez Smith, was Latina, and the couple believed they might find greater opportunities in Brazil's more racially diverse society.

Before they left, Smith shared his frustrations with his friend Bob Utter, who acted immediately. Utter spoke with Justice Hill, who offered Smith a clerkship with the Washington Supreme Court. Still, another obstacle remained. Finding housing for a young interracial couple in a 1955 Olympia seemed nearly impossible.

Utter later recounted that Smith asked him: “Where on earth will we be able to rent an apartment in Olympia? No one will rent to a young mixed-race couple!”

Once again, Utter stepped in, arranging for the Smiths to move into the apartment he and his wife Betty were vacating at the end of his clerkship. What may have appeared to be simple acts of friendship proved consequential far beyond either man's imagination.

The clerkship launched Smith's legal career. After serving as a King County deputy prosecutor, he caught the attention of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who recruited him to the Department of Justice in 1961. Returning to Seattle, Smith became Washington's first African American judge when he was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court. He later served on the King County Superior Court, joined the UW Law faculty as professor and associate dean, and in 1988 was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court.

Throughout his career, Smith remained a powerful advocate for diversity of the bench and the bar. He also became a leading voice in the movement to secure justice for Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated during World War II. His public service extended beyond the legal profession; he served as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve and as national president of the American Baptist Churches.

Utter's path was equally distinguished. After serving as a deputy King County prosecuting attorney, as juvenile court commissioner and as a King County Superior Court judge, he joined the Washington Court of Appeals and then the Washington Supreme Court in 1971. Over the next 23 years, he became one of the nation's most respected judicial scholars, known for his influential opinions, writings on state constitutionalism and unwavering commitment to civil liberties.

In 1995, Utter resigned from the Court in protest of the judiciary's role in administering the death penalty — a rare and principled act that reflected his lifelong commitment to judicial conscience. Following his retirement, he devoted significant energy to judicial education and rule-of-law initiatives throughout Eastern Europe and Africa. He also co-authored a leading treatise on the Washington Constitution with UW Law professor Hugh Spitzer.

For 14 years, Utter and Smith served together on the Washington Supreme Court. By then, both had become giants of Washington jurisprudence. Yet their shared story offers a reminder that legal history is often shaped not only by landmark opinions and public appointments, but also by individual acts of courage, friendship and integrity.

Had Robert Utter not intervened on behalf of his classmate in 1955, helping him secure both a clerkship and a place to live, Washington might have lost one of its most influential judges, teachers and advocates for equal justice.

Instead, UW Law produced two extraordinary jurists whose friendship has helped shape the course of the state's legal system.