Rebecca Beach Smith

Rebecca Beach Smith (born 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and a civic leader. Among her many decisions is the 2011 ruling that decided the title to and restrictions upon artifacts salvaged from the wreck of the .

Early life, education

Smith was born in Hopewell, Virginia. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary in 1971, and then received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1973. In 1997, Judge Smith received The College of William and Mary Alumni Medallion, the highest award the William and Mary Alumni Association can bestow on a graduate of the College of William and Mary.

Career

After earning her Master of Arts degree, Smith was a planning analyst for Enviro-Med, Inc. in Washington, D.C., and La Jolla, California from 1973 to 1974. The artifacts can be sold only to a company that would abide by the lengthy list of conditions and restrictions.

Viagra patent decision

Just a few days before her decision in the Titanic artifacts case, Judge Smith upheld the validity of Pfizer Inc.'s patent for the erectile dysfunction pill Viagra. The decision blocked Israeli firm Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of generic drugs, from marketing a generic version until 2019. She was a member of the Federal Judges Association's board of directors and the United States Judicial Conference Committee on Technology. United States Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Smith to the United States Judicial Conference Codes of Conduct Committee, and she was serving in this capacity in 2011.