Born in Washington, D.C., Smith received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Princeton University in 1935, a Bachelor of Laws from Georgetown Law in 1938, and a Master of Laws from the same institution in 1939. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1940 to 1946, and was in the United States Army during World War II, serving as an Air Corps Lieutenant Colonel from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1956. He was Commissioner of the District of Columbia Public Utilities Commission from 1956 to 1957. He was an associate judge of the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions from 1957 to 1959, becoming chief judge of that court from 1959 to 1966.
