Terry Smiljanich
Encyclopedia
Terry Smiljanich is an American lawyer
.
Smiljanich was born in Tampa, Florida in 1947 to Peter and Olga Smiljanich. His father was in the Air Force and the family traveled extensively, with stays in Japan, Mississippi, Florida and Texas. He attended Alamo Heights High School
, Randolph High School (Texas)
, and graduated in 1965 from Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida)
.
Smiljanich attended the University of Florida
, where he met his wife Dorothy Weik in 1967 (they married in 1969). He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree
in English
, and attended the University of Florida College of Law, serving as editor of the University of Florida Law Review
.
Smiljanich served as a law clerk
to United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
judge Ben Krentzman
in Tampa
from 1972 to 1974. He was Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
from 1974 to 1977. While serving as a federal prosecutor, he handled organized crime cases, kidnappings, bank robberies, and environmental crimes, among other prosecutions. Smiljanich served in the United States Army Reserve
from 1972 to 1981, and became a captain.
Smiljanich acted as counsel to the United States Senate
during the congressional hearing
s on the Iran-Contra affair
. His responsibilities included investigations of State Department and White House personnel involved in the political scandal. He conducted the public interrogation of former United States Secretary of the Treasury
and Chief of Staff
Donald Regan
during the televised hearings.
Smiljanich is currently a partner
in the law firm
James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich. He is Managing Editor of the Consumer Warning Network, and writes extensively for that organization.
He is chairman of the Tampa Bay Skeptics, a non-profit organization
scientific skeptic
interested in "objective and critical inquiry" of "paranormal
and fringe-science
claims". Tampa Bay Skeptics offers a $1,000 challenge to anyone able to prove the existence of paranormal powers under mutually agreed testing protocols, similar to the $1 million challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation
. He has written for the Skeptical Inquirer, a national magazine published by the Center for Inquiry.
Smiljanich is a member of the Major Gifts Committee for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida
and bequeathed
$1 million to the school. He is also a board member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Astronomy at the University.
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
.
Smiljanich was born in Tampa, Florida in 1947 to Peter and Olga Smiljanich. His father was in the Air Force and the family traveled extensively, with stays in Japan, Mississippi, Florida and Texas. He attended Alamo Heights High School
Alamo Heights High School
Alamo Heights High School is a secondary school located in the city of Alamo Heights, Texas and is the only high school in the Alamo Heights Independent School District....
, Randolph High School (Texas)
Randolph High School (Texas)
Randolph High School, part of the Randolph Field Independent School District, is located on Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas. It serves approximately 300 high school students and employs approximately 29 high school teachers and other support staff...
, and graduated in 1965 from Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida)
Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida)
Thomas Jefferson High School is a secondary school located in the heart of the Westshore Business District of Tampa, Florida. Thomas Jefferson High School is an Area 1 high school operated under the Hillsborough County Public School system.-School history:...
.
Smiljanich attended the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he met his wife Dorothy Weik in 1967 (they married in 1969). He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, and attended the University of Florida College of Law, serving as editor of the University of Florida Law Review
Florida Law Review
The Florida Law Review is the law review of the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. The review was founded as the University of Florida Law Review in 1948. In 1989 its name was changed to the Florida Law Review. About 90 student members and two staff assistants produce the review...
.
Smiljanich served as a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
to United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida serves the residents of thirty-five counties from eight courthouses....
judge Ben Krentzman
Ben Krentzman
Isaac Benjamin "Ben" Krentzman Jr. was an American lawyer and judge.Krentzman was born in Milton, Florida. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida in 1935 and his J.D...
in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
from 1972 to 1974. He was Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
The United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida....
from 1974 to 1977. While serving as a federal prosecutor, he handled organized crime cases, kidnappings, bank robberies, and environmental crimes, among other prosecutions. Smiljanich served in the United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
from 1972 to 1981, and became a captain.
Smiljanich acted as counsel to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
during the congressional hearing
Congressional hearing
Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings — a procedure unique to the Senate — legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all...
s on the Iran-Contra affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
. His responsibilities included investigations of State Department and White House personnel involved in the political scandal. He conducted the public interrogation of former United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
and Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
Donald Regan
Donald Regan
Donald Thomas Regan ,was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from 1981 to 1985, and Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 in the Ronald Reagan Administration, where he advocated "Reaganomics" and tax cuts to create jobs and stimulate production.-Early life:Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts,...
during the televised hearings.
Smiljanich is currently a partner
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
in the law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich. He is Managing Editor of the Consumer Warning Network, and writes extensively for that organization.
He is chairman of the Tampa Bay Skeptics, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
scientific skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
interested in "objective and critical inquiry" of "paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
and fringe-science
Fringe science
Fringe science is scientific inquiry in an established field of study that departs significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories, and is classified in the "fringes" of a credible mainstream academic discipline....
claims". Tampa Bay Skeptics offers a $1,000 challenge to anyone able to prove the existence of paranormal powers under mutually agreed testing protocols, similar to the $1 million challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...
. He has written for the Skeptical Inquirer, a national magazine published by the Center for Inquiry.
Smiljanich is a member of the Major Gifts Committee for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and bequeathed
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
$1 million to the school. He is also a board member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Astronomy at the University.
External links
- http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu/clasnotes/alumninotes/00spring/smiljanich.html
- http://www.jameshoyer.com/tsmiljanich.html
- Tampa Bay Skeptics
- http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/