Smith County, Texas
Smith County | |
|---|---|
 Location within the U.S. state of Texas | |
 Texas's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 32°23′N 95°16′W / 32.38°N 95.27°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| Founded | July, 1846 |
| Seat | Tyler |
| Population (2000) | |
• Total | 174,706 |
| Website | www |
Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 174,706 , while in 2005 it was estimated to have reached 194,635. Its county seat is Tyler6. Smith county is named for James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution. Smith County is primarily dry, but the city of Tyler is "damp" allowing wine sales in town without a local option election.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,459 km² (949 mi²). 2,404 km² (928 mi²) of it is land and 55 km² (21 mi²) of it (2.22%) is water. The county infrastructure includes some 1180 miles of two lane county road. 70% of these county roads were rated "bad" or "poor" in 2004. The county Commissioners Court appointed a new county engineer in 2005 and initiated an aggressive reconstruction campaign.
Major Highways
Adjacent counties
- Wood County (north)
- Upshur County (northeast)
- Gregg County (east)
- Rusk County (southeast)
- Cherokee County (south)
- Henderson County (southwest)
- Van Zandt County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 73/km² (188/mi²). There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 30/km² (77/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.61% White, 19.06% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.74% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 11.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 65,692 households out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males. According to official state of Texas records Smith county now incarcerates its residents at a rate twice as high as the state average and is currently embroiled in a debate over the building of a new county jail.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,148, and the median income for a family was $44,534. Males had a median income of $32,451 versus $22,351 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,072. About 10.20% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 10.80% of those age 65 or over.
The county has been unable to house approximately 30% of its growing inmate population since 2000 in its own facilities and spends approximately 10% of its annual budget (estimated to be $62 Million in 2007) for housing prisoners in out of county facilities.
SMITH COUNTY JUSTICE: Smith County is infamous for it's corrupt judicial system. It's been said that there are probably more innocent people in prison from Smith County than any other county in Texas. The District Attorney's office has a legacy of corruption. In 2000 the Houston Chronicle published a series of articles critical of the Smith County DA's office. One of the articles was titled "Win at all Costs is Smith County's Rule, Critics Claim". Jack Skeen, the district attorney at that time, and 2 assistants sued the paper for libel. The Supreme Court of Texas noted that much of the information in the article came from credible sources (basically affirming that the DA's office was corrupt) and found for the paper. The Kerry Max Cook case was called one of the worst cases of prosecutorial misconduct in the country. Mr. Cook spent 22 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Prosecutors withheld evidence and encouraged witnesses to lie among other misconduct. Some of this misconduct occurred many years ago and those people are no longer in office. However, some misconduct occurred when Jack Skeen was the district attorney. The Court of Criminal Appeals documented misconduct in the Cook case and overturned his conviction. Prosecutorial misconduct is a rarely cited reason for overturning a conviction. In another case Jack Skeen,as DA, kept a local businessman under indictment for 2 years for allegedly making too much profit from advertising sales. This was done because a local TV station wanted the man prosecuted and Skeen seeks to keep the media on his side. Jack Skeen is now a state district judge. Judge Skeen continues to have an inappropriate relationship with the DA's office. He appears to still see himself as a prosecutor and not a judge. It has been said that he still runs the DA's office. The current district attorney, Matt Bingham, is a protege of Skeen's and the two work very closely to see that the wishes of the district attorney's office are carried out in Skeen's courtroom. In 2005 a local attorney testified that Judge Skeen could not be impartial in cases where law enforcement officers were the victim. Yet Skeen continues to work with the DA's office to have these types of cases assigned to his court. Skeen has also been known to violate the constitutional rights of defendants by setting excessive bail. Skeen seizes upon every opportunity to get his name in the paper or to appear on the TV news. One of his former assistants referred to him as a "political animal". To Skeen, politics is more important than justice. The current District Attorney, Matt Bingham, continues the "Win at all Costs" policy in the DA's office. The Smith County DA's office continues to encourage perjury, withhold evidence and selectively and maliciously prosecute sometimes innocent people. In Smith County it's all about politics and power, not justice. See the following links for more information: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/575929.html http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/575976.html http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/575975.html http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/575122.html http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/historical/2005/mar/040414.htm http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20051111/ARC/511110327
Cities and towns
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See also
Roads and highways
- Interstate 20
- U.S. Highway 69
- U.S. Highway 80 (less than one mile)
- U.S. Highway 271 (endpoint)
External links
- Smith County government website
- Smith County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
- Smith County Electricity Deregulation
