Terry Smiljanich

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}}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#if:||{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}}}} }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox officeholder with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| regexp1 = 1blankname[%d]* | regexp2 = 1namedata[%d]* | regexp3 = 2blankname[%d]* | regexp4 = 2namedata[%d]* | regexp5 = 3blankname[%d]* | regexp6 = 3namedata[%d]* | regexp7 = 4blankname[%d]* | regexp8 = 4namedata[%d]* | regexp9 = 5blankname[%d]* | regexp10 = 5namedata[%d]* | allegiance | alma_mater | regexp11 = alongside[%d]* | alt | regexp12 = ambassador_from[%d]* | regexp13 = appointed[%d]* | regexp14 = appointer[%d]* | regexp15 = assembly[%d]* | awards | battles | battles_label | birth_date | birth_name | birth_place | birthname | regexp16 = blank[%d]* | bodyclass | branch | branch_label | cabinet | candidate | caption | categories | regexp17 = chancellor[%d]* | children | citizenship | regexp18 = co%-leader[%d]* | commands | committees | regexp19 = constituency[%d]* | regexp20 = constituency_AM[%d]* | regexp21 = constituency_MP[%d]* | regexp22 = convocation[%d]* | regexp23 = country[%d]* | regexp24 = data[%d]* | date | death_cause | death_date | death_manner | death_place | demo | regexp25 = deputy[%d]* | regexp26 = district[%d]* | education | election_date | embed | father | regexp28 = firstminister[%d]* | footnotes | regexp29 = governor[%d]* | regexp30 = governor_general[%d]* | regexp31 = governor%-general[%d]* | height | honorific_prefix | honorific-prefix | honorific_suffix | honorific-suffix | image | image name | image_name_alt | image_size | imagesize | image_upright | incumbent | regexp32 = jr/sr[%d]* | regexp33 = jr/sr and state[%d]* | known_for | regexp34 = leader[%d]* | regexp35 = legislature[%d]* | regexp36 = lieutenant[%d]* | regexp37 = lieutenant_governor[%d]* | mainwidth | regexp38 = majority[%d]* | regexp39 = majority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp40 = majority_leader[%d]* | regexp41 = majorityleader[%d]* | mawards | regexp42 = military_blank[%d]* | regexp43 = military_data[%d]* | regexp44 = minister[%d]* | regexp45 = minister_from[%d]* | regexp46 = minority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp47 = minority_leader[%d]* | regexp48 = minorityleader[%d]* | regexp49 = module[%d]* | regexp50 = monarch[%d]* | mother | name | nationality | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nocat | regexp51 = nominator[%d]* | nominee | occupation | regexp52 = office[%d]* | opponent | regexp53 = order[%d]* | otherparty | parents | regexp54 = parliament[%d]* | regexp55 = parliamentarygroup[%d]* | partner | party | party_election | portfolio | regexp56 = preceded[%d]* | regexp57 = preceding[%d]* | regexp58 = predecessor[%d]* | regexp59 = premier[%d]* | regexp60 = president[%d]* | regexp61 = primeminister[%d]* | regexp62 = prior_term[%d]* | profession | pronunciation | rank | rank_label | relations | relatives | residence | resting_place | resting_place_coordinates | restingplace | restingplacecoordinates | regexp63 = riding[%d]* | runningmate | salary | serviceyears | serviceyears_label | signature | signature_alt | signature_size | smallimage | smallimage_alt | source | speaker | speaker_office | spouse | spouses | regexp64 = state[%d]* | regexp65 = state_assembly[%d]* | regexp66 = state_delegate[%d]* | regexp67 = state_house[%d]* | regexp68 = state_legislature[%d]* | regexp69 = state_senate[%d]* | regexp70 = status[%d]* | regexp71 = suboffice[%d]* | regexp72 = subterm[%d]* | regexp73 = succeeded[%d]* | regexp74 = succeeding[%d]* | regexp75 = successor[%d]* | regexp76 = taoiseach[%d]* | regexp77 = term[%d]* | regexp78 = term_end[%d]* | regexp79 = term_label[%d]* | regexp80 = term_start[%d]* | regexp81 = termend[%d]* | regexp82 = termlabel[%d]* | regexp83 = termstart[%d]* | regexp84 = title[%d]* | unit | unit_label | regexp85 = vicegovernor[%d]* | regexp86 = vicepremier[%d]* | regexp87 = vicepresident[%d]* | regexp88 = viceprimeminister[%d]* | regexp89 = assuming[%d]* | website | width | year }} Terry Alan Smiljanich (born March 1, 1947) is a retired American lawyer who acted as counsel to the United States Senate during the congressional hearings on the Iran-Contra affair. In 1983 Smiljanich co-founded the law firm Blasingame, Forizs & Smiljanich.

Early life

Smiljanich was born in Tampa, Florida in 1947 to Peter and Olga Smiljanich.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His father was in the Air Force and the family traveled extensively, with stays in Japan, Mississippi, Florida and Texas.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He attended Alamo Heights High School, Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, and graduated in 1965 from Thomas Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida.

Education

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<ref name="autogenerated1">Alumni CLASnotes, Spring 2000: CLAS Couple Gives Back</ref> and graduating in 1972.<ref name= "Crawford1987">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Smiljanich served as a law clerk to United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida Judge Ben Krentzman<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Tampa from 1972 to 1974. He was Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 1974<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to 1977.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> While serving as a federal prosecutor, he handled organized crime cases, kidnappings, bank robberies, and environmental crimes, among other prosecutions. He won convictions of several organized crime figures.<ref name= "Crawford1987"/> Smiljanich served in the United States Army Reserve from 1972 to 1981, and became a captain.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

Smiljanich acted as counsel to the United States Senate during the congressional hearings on the Iran-Contra affair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His responsibilities included investigations of State Department and White House personnel involved in the political scandal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He conducted the public interrogation of former United States Secretary of the Treasury and Chief of Staff Donald Regan during the televised hearings.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref name= "NYT Contra">Template:Cite news
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In 1983 Smiljanich co-founded the law firm Blasingame, Forizs & Smiljanich.<ref name= "Abercrombie1997"/> He was a partner there until 1997 when the firm merged with James, Hoyer & Newcomer<ref name= "Abercrombie1997">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the firm became James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich, P.A. where he was a senior partner.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name= "Meinhardt2013">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a lawyer he has been critical of mortgage banks<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the practices in the private mortgage insurance business estimating that over one million homeowners in the U.S. were victims of the industry's failure to warn them about credit report issues that could raise premiums to over $700 a month on a $200,000 loan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is the founder and managing editor of the Consumer Warning Network writing extensively for that organization.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his capacity at the Network he has been interviewed on local and national news programs and appeared in videos produced by the organization on a variety of topics including the foreclosure crisis, consumer scams and homeopathy.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref>

With Charles Wachter he authored a book for lawyers on class action suits in Florida.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Skepticism

Template:Centered pull quote He was a founding member and from 1989 to 2015 served as Chairman<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (now "Chairman Emeritus")<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of the Tampa Bay Skeptics,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a scientific skeptic non-profit organization (affiliated with the Center for Inquiry) that Smiljanich says is "devoted to critical examination of paranormal and fringe-science claims".<ref name="Gershman2006">Template:Cite news</ref> He described the goals of the organization "to counteract some of the kooks out there" and "attempt to impose some rationality in the world."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In a 1990 letter to the editor he chided the St. Petersburg Times for a credulous review of a book on UFOs saying such content may boost circulation, "but do little to encourage proper skepticism in a country quickly slipping into scientific illiteracy."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In another letter to the editor of the paper, in 1993, he called astrology and creationism pseudosciences whose claims should be subject to scientific analysis, going on to say, "The fact that they have failed miserably in that regard allows scientists to throw them into the garbage heap along with flat earths, mind reading, and fortune telling."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In a 2008 St. Petersburg Times article on a guardian angel seminar Matt Albucher quotes Smiljanich, "I say before you believe in something, you should require some credible evidence. In this case, there is none."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Since 1989 the Tampa Bay Skeptics has offered a $1,000 challenge to anyone able to prove the existence of paranormal powers<ref name= "Gershman2006"/> under mutually agreed testing protocols,<ref name="Challenges">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> similar to the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There have been ten attempts, including two that were televised, and no successes.<ref name= "Challenges"/>

From 1988 to 2013 the Tampa Bay Skeptics published a quarterly newsletter, The Tampa Bay Skeptics Report for which Smiljanich was a regular contributor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has written for the Skeptical Inquirer, a national magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and The Tampa Tribune.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2010 he spoke at a meeting of the Humanist Society of the Suncoast in Florida.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Philanthropy

Smiljanich is a member of the Major Gifts Committee for the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and bequeathed $1 million to the school.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> He is also a board member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Astronomy at the University.

Hobby

A member and officer of the Alachua Astronomy Club, Smiljanich is an amateur astronomer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

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External links

Terry Smiljanich

Contents

Early life

Education

Career

Skepticism

Philanthropy

Hobby

See also

References

External links

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Terry Smiljanich

Early life

Education

Career

Skepticism

Philanthropy

Hobby

See also

References

External links

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