Change of perspective: Jimmy Smith adjusts to new role as judge on NWTNTODAY.COM

By JOHN BRANNON Messenger Staff Reporter Looking up to speak to a judge seated at the bench of justice in a courtroom was just part of the job for Union City attorney Jimmy Smith. He’d been at it about 30 years. But overnight came change. Role-switching change. Now he wears the black robe of a jurist. Now he sits at the bench of justice. Now he is the judge. “It is definitely different,” he told The Messenger in a recent interview. “I don’t know whether it’s because the bench is up higher than everything else, but it is a completely different perspective from being down in the trenches.” Appointed In May, the Obion County Commission appointed Smith, a long-time local attorney, to succeed retiring General Sessions judge Raymond Morris. He told a fact about himself that’s little known to the world. He said his name is “Jimmy,” not “James.” So often, those named James are called Jimmy. But not him. He’s Jimmy Clay Smith. That’s the name on his birth certificate. On the bench Smith began his new judicial duties July 1. “The interesting part of it is that attorneys have developed a discipline not to ask questions you’re not pretty sure you have the answers to, especially when it comes to your own client,” he continued. “But (as a judge) you can ask questions you’d be afraid to ask as an attorney. Getting the answer is what you’re looking for as a judge to be able to make the right decision.” Native son Smith, 55, born and raised in Hornbeak, is the son of Charlotte and James R. “Bubba” Smith of Hornbeak. He is a 1972 graduate of Obion County Central High School, a 1976 graduate of the University of Mississippi with an undergraduate in business administration and a graduate of the former Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) law school. “I came back here in 1979, practiced a few years with (the late) Charlie (C.W.) Miles,” he said. “I had that honor. He was probably one of the best trial lawyers ever around here. Then I went out on my own for three years. In 1984 I merged with (attorneys) Bruce Conley, Damon Campbell and Bruce Moss. I’ve been with them 25 years.” Smith said he was often asked what kind of lawyer he is. His stock reply: A country lawyer. “What does that mean?” he asked. “Well, you do a little bit of everything. You never get very good at anything. But it’s never dull, because you’re doing it all.” He recalled that when he first went into private practice, there was no public defender system as there is now. So like everyone else, he learned to practice courtroom law by being appointed to defend criminal cases. He also learned real estate and adoption law. “Probably the most enjoyable part is adoption law,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of adoptions. Of course, having an adopted daughter, that’s near and dear to me. Learning a lot about that so we could help people. And we still did personal injury and workers compensation cases and criminal cases from time to time. Still a little bit of everything.” Heavy case load Smith asserted that General Sessions adjudicates — or begins the process of doing so — about 100 cases a week, criminal and civil. In about half the civil cases, if someone is being sued for money, they don’t show up. Today’s bleak economy has increased actions by collection firms and lawyers who represent them. “It’s for medical bills, credit card bills, things of that nature,” he said. “Quite honestly, people have gotten so deep in debt on those kind of things, there’s no answer to it. So often they don’t even show up to even question the amount that’s owed. They just can’t pay it. “It’s amazing to me that the Western District of the federal court in Tennessee indicates (West Tennessee) has one of the highest, if not the highest, bankruptcy filing rates in all the United States.” But there is a bright side. Since July 1, General Sessions Court has sent people to the Adult Learning Center to work toward a GED. “I think we’ve got 15 or 20 going through that program. One person has already graduated. Some of these folks who otherwise would be in criminal court will now be in the GED graduation line. And that’s an absolutely great feeling.” Epilogue Does Jimmy Smith want to make a difference? “Sure,” he said. “I think we all do. Sometimes we just don’t know how to do it. I hope, not only with the drug court program, but also with General Sessions Court, that I will take advantage of that opportunity.” Published in The Messenger 11.27.09