The Hon. Jennifer L. Smith is a judge for Division IV of the 20th Judicial District Criminal Court of Tennessee. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Bill Haslam on November 14, 2018, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Seth Norman.
The 20th Judicial District encompasses Davidson County. Over the course of her judicial career, Smith has held assignments on the Davidson County Felony Drug Court.
Prior to her appointment, Smith worked for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. During her tenure there, she held assignments as associate solicitor general for the Solicitor General’s Office, deputy attorney general for the Law Enforcement and Special Prosecutions Division, and associate deputy attorney general for the Criminal Justice Division.
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Mississippi in 1988. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1991. Smith has also received a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Washington, D.C.
She is licensed to practice in Tennessee (1994); Mississippi (1991); the United States District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Mississippi (1991); the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit (1991); the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (1993), Texas (1993), and Arkansas (1994).
After graduating from law school, Smith began her legal career as an associate at Colingo, Williams, Heidelberg, Steinberger & McElhaney in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She later transferred her practice to Nashville, Tennessee.
Her memberships have included the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Judicial Conference, and the Law Association of for Women (Marion Griffin Chapter). She has also been involved with the Downtown Rotary Club and Boy Scout Troop 1914.
A mother of two children, Smith is an active member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Her children, born in Kazakhstan, have lived in Nashville since infancy. She also serves as an intelligence officer with the United States Navy Reserve.