Justin Smith's Record Against Reproductive Freedom

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Justin Smith’s Record Against Reproductive Freedom

| Estimated reading time: 9 minutes | By: Reproductive Freedom for All

We strongly oppose Justin Smith, Trump's Pick for Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Key Takeaways
  • Reproductive Freedom for All strongly opposes Justin Smith for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Justin Smith was nominated by President Trump to a lifetime appointment on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals because of his extensive record advancing extremist agendas at the expense of our fundamental rights—including reproductive freedom.
  • + Read More
  • Trump has a deeply troubling track record of nominating judges who oppose reproductive freedom, reflecting the Trump administration’s vision for courts that are hostile to the basic reproductive rights and freedoms of all Americans.
Justin Smith, Trump's Pick for Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
Justin Smith, Trump’s Pick for Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

 

Who is Justin Smith?

Justin Smith was nominated by President Trump to a lifetime appointment on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals because of his extensive record advancing extremist agendas at the expense of our fundamental rights—including reproductive freedom.

Smith is a co-owner of the James Otis Law Group, a conservative law firm that has led countless lawsuits attacking abortion access, LGBTQ+ equality and other rights, as well as representing President Trump in several lawsuits.

Quick Hits: Justin Smith’s Record

Defending abortion bans in Arizona

In 2025, Smith represented Arizona’s Republican lawmakers in their attempt to defend remaining state abortion restrictions after voters in Arizona passed a ballot initiative to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution.

Despite the newly passed constitutional amendment, Smith argued that the state should still enforce a ban on accessing abortion care via telehealth, a ban based on the reason someone was seeking care, and a law that required multiple trips to a health care provider before being able to access care.

An Arizona state court ultimately ruled the laws violated the state’s constitution and blocked them from being enforced.

Anti-abortion record in Missouri

Prior to his time in private practice, Smith worked at the Missouri Attorney General’s office where he defended numerous abortion bans in the state.

He also defended a county clerk who did not allow a 17-year-old seeking abortion care to access a judicial bypass needed for minors to receive abortion care without parental consent under Missouri law.

The 17-year-old sued the clerk after she was forced to travel to a neighboring state to access care, arguing that the clerk violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights.

Dive Deeper: Justin Smith’s Anti-Repro Record

Defended Abortion Restrictions

  • Smith defended efforts to roll back abortion access following Proposition 139, Arizona’s successful 2024 ballot initiative to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Smith represented Republican lawmakers in these efforts, which included a law banning abortion care via telemedicine, a mandate to make multiple trips to a doctor before being able to access care, and a ban based on the reason a person was seeking care. Ultimately, an Arizona court ruled that the restrictions at issue violated Arizona’s constitution after Proposition 139’s passage, and blocked the abortion restrictions from being enforced.
  • During his time at the Missouri Attorney General’s office—an office which has repeatedly led attacks on access to abortion care nationwide—Smith defended Missouri’s 8-week abortion ban and a ban based on the reason why a person was seeking abortion care. After the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Smith’s arguments and blocked the bans from being enforced, Smith petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider the case. The Court ultimately denied his request.
  • While at the Missouri Attorney General’s office, Smith also represented a county clerk who misinformed and misled a 17-year-old about her ability to seek a judicial bypass from Missouri’s law prohibiting minors from accessing abortion care without parental involvement. The 17-year-old was eventually forced to travel to the neighboring state of Illinois to access care, and sued the clerk for violating her Fourteenth Amendment rights. Smith argued that the clerk should not be held liable because of immunity for public officials, and the Eighth Circuit rejected his arguments.

Support for Anti-Reproductive Freedom Candidates

  • Smith supported anti-abortion candidate Will Scharf’s campaign for Missouri attorney general. In an article for Breitbart in 2024, Smith lauded Scharf for helping write the “state law that virtually eliminated abortions in Missouri before the Dobbs decision” and stated that he would be “the fighter the pro-life movement needs.”
Career
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2007
  • Juris Doctor, University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Law, 2010
  • Secondee, Pfizer Inc., 2013-2014
  • Shook, Hardy & Bacon, 2008-2016
    • Summer Associate, 2008, 2009
    • Associate, 2010-2016
  • Deputy Counsel, Missouri Governor’s Office, 2017-2018
  • General Counsel, Missouri Department of Agriculture, 2018-2019
  • Missouri Attorney General’s Office, 2019-2023
    • Assistant Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation, 2019
    • Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation, 2019-2021
    • Acting General Counsel, 2020-2021
    • Chief of Staff, 2020-2023
    • First Assistant, 2021-2023
  • Senior Advisor, Sen. Eric Schmitt, United States Senate, 2023
  • Self-Employed, Pervinco LLC, 2023-2025
  • James Otis Law Group, LLC, 2023-present
    • Independent Contractor, 2023-2025
    • Co-owner, 2025-present
Justin Smith's Record Against Democracy and Voting Rights

As an attorney at the Missouri Attorney General’s office, Smith worked on several matters following Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election that sought to undermine the election results and restrict whose votes counted.

  • Smith helped lead an amicus brief where Missouri and 16 other states supported Texas’s frivolous lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election results. The Supreme Court ultimately determined Texas lacked standing and denied the state’s challenge.
  • Smith also supported then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s efforts—alongside 10 other Republican attorneys general—to challenge the validity of counting mail-in ballots received up to three days after Election Day. The challenge followed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to count mail-in ballots within that timeframe and after Pennsylvania voters played a critical role in Trump’s 2020 loss.
Justin Smith's Record Against Gender Justice

As an attorney at James Otis Law Group LLC, Smith served as lead counsel for Donald Trump in his efforts to have the Supreme Court overturn the $83.3 million judgment resulting from E. Jean Carroll’s civil sexual abuse and defamation case against him. The case is ongoing.

Justin Smith's Record Against LGBTQ+ Equality

As an attorney at James Otis Law Group LLC, Smith has helped lead a number of cases that seek to undermine LGBTQ+ equality by attacking transgender rights, including the right to equally participate in sports teams and access to gender affirming care.

  • Smith represented the Arizona Department of Education in a case where a group of transgender girls sued their schools, school and state officials, and an athletic association over a state law that barred transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams. They argued that the law violated the Equal Protection Cause and Title IX. The district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law, and the Ninth Circuit upheld their decision. Smith then represented Republican lawmakers in their petition to have the Supreme Court reconsider the lower courts’ rulings.
  • Smith also represented two parties in submitting amicus briefs in Supreme Court cases that aim to eliminate the rights of transgender girls and women to play in sports. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on these cases in January 2026, and an opinion is expected by the end of this term.

The Big Picture

Trump has a deeply troubling track record of nominating judges who oppose reproductive freedom, reflecting the Trump administration’s vision for courts that are hostile to the basic reproductive rights and freedoms of all Americans.

Decisions made by these judges will impact our health, access to care, and daily lives, and we deserve to know whether these nominees are committed to fairness and equality under the law or if they are beholden to an ideology or agenda opposing reproductive freedom.

 

Citations and Sources
  • Justin Smith, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026).
  • Isaacson v. Arizona, No. CV 2025-017995, 2026 WL ____ (Ariz.Super. February 6, 2026).
  • + Read More
  • See U.S. Food and Drug Admin. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, 602 U.S. 367 (2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-235_n7ip.pdf.
  • Reprod. Health Servs. of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, Inc. v. Parson, 1 F.4th 552 (8th Cir. 2021).
  • Reprod. Health Servs. of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, Inc. v. Parson, 1 F.4th 552, 564 (8th Cir. 2021).
  • Schmitt v. Reprod. Health Servs. of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, Inc., 144 S. Ct. 38, 211 L. Ed. 2d 155 (2021).
  • Doe by next friend Rothert v. Chapman, 30 F.4th 766 (8th Cir. 2022).
  • Justin Smith, Exclusive- Justin Smith: Missouri Conservatives Have a Clear Choice for Attorney General in Trump's Attorney Will Scharf, Breitbart (July 30, 2024).
  • @JustinSmithMO, X (Mar. 15, 2024, 5:11 PM), https://x.com/JustinSmithMO/status/1768746915984789776
  • Justin Smith, Attachment Package for Question 12(a) of the Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, p. 1289, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026).
  • Texas v. Pennsylvania, 141 S. Ct. 1230, 208 L. Ed. 2d 487 (2020).
  • Attorney General Alan Wilson, coalition of Attorneys General file amicus brief in Pennsylvania Supreme Court voting case, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, (Nov. 9, 2020), https://www.scag.gov/about-the-office/news/attorney-general-alan-wilson-coalition-of-attorneys-general-file-amicus-brief-in-pennsylvania-supreme-court-voting-case/.
  • Justin Smith, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, P. 31-32, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026); Carroll v. Trump, 151 F.4th 50, 61-63 (2d Cir. 2025).
  • Doe v. Horne, 115 F.4th 1083 (9th Cir. 2024).
  • Justin Smith, Attachment Package for Question 12(a) of the Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, p. 957, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026); see Petersen v. Doe, No. 24-449 (U.S. 2026).
  • See Justin Smith, Attachment Package for Question 12(a) of the Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, p. 1205, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026), and Justin Smith, Attachment Package for Question 12(a) of the Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, p. 1247, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Mar. 19, 2026).
  • Little v. Hecox, No. 24-38 (U.S. 2026) and West Virginia v. B.P.J., No. 24-43 (U.S. 2026).
  • Southern Poverty Law Center, American College of Pediatricians, https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/american-college-pediatricians/
  • Brief of The American College of Pediatricians as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents, E.N. v. Kehoe, No. SC 100933, (Mo. 2025), https://acpeds.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/american_college_of_pediatricians-amicus_brief.pdf.

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