Rodney Smith serves as a Circuit Judge in the civil and felony criminal divisions of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, where he has served since his appointment by the Governor in 2012. In this capacity, he also serves as co-chair of the Diversity Committee of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges. He previously served for four years as a Miami-Dade County Court Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, where he handled both civil and criminal cases. Before ascending to the bench, Judge Smith served as a senior assistant city attorney in the Office of the City Attorney for Miami Beach, where he handled a broad range of civil defense matters. Before joining the City Attorney’s office, Judge Smith practiced insurance defense law at a number of private Miami firms. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Smith served for four years as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office. Judge Smith earned his B.S., cum laude, from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and his J.D., cum laude, from the Michigan State University College of Law.