The Honorable Erithe A. Smith is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California, Santa Ana Division.  She was appointed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994 and was reappointed to a second term in 2008. She served on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit from 2004-2007.            

            A native of Los Angeles, Judge Smith graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 1979 and from Boalt Hall School of Law (Berkeley Law) in 1982.   From 1982 to 1985 she served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Marcus M. Kaufman of the California Court of Appeal and to the Honorable Peter M. Elliott of the United States Bankruptcy Court.  Prior to taking the bench, she was a partner in a law firm in Irvine, California specializing in corporate insolvency and bankruptcy law.

            In past years, Judge Smith has served as an associate editor of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal, a member of the Judicial Advisory Council of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Orange County Chapter), and president of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum.  By appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts, Judge Smith served two terms on the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System, a standing committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States that develops, examines, and recommends policies that affect the administration of the bankruptcy court system.  She is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University.

            Judge Smith retired on October 29, 2022 but continues to serve as a Recalled Judge.