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Daviess Circuit Judge Gregory Smith was on a completely different career path when his law school acceptance letter arrived.
Smith had graduated from Washington High School and played basketball in Texas for two years before transferring to Indiana State University. Instead of joining the basketball team there, he decided to focus on his grades in preparation for applying to law school.
Smith graduated from ISU in 1978 with a degree in education. He had just been hired to teach and coach at Edgewood High School when he got his acceptance letter from what was then called the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.
“I had to call their principal back and say, ‘I’m going to have to decline that,’ and he said, ‘I understand,’” Smith recalled.
Upon graduating from law school in 1981, Smith became the first attorney in his family. He eventually started a solo firm with a focus on domestic practice, including custody and parenting time disputes, but he admitted that he lost motivation after his 12-year-old son, Sheldon, died in 2006.
The following year, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed Smith to the Daviess Circuit Court bench to replace Judge Robert Arthur, who retired. He was then elected to the bench in 2008 and was reelected in 2014 and 2020.
Smith is the latest Indiana trial court judge to be featured in Indiana Lawyer’s Spotlight series that profiles judges in more rural communities. Here is what he had to say about life on and off the bench.
If you hadn’t gotten into the legal field, what job do you think you would be doing?
I’d probably be in teaching and coaching. I have three boys. I got to coach them, especially soccer and basketball is what most of them did. My oldest son’s high school team, when there was just one class soccer, they were state runner-up. My middle son was an all-state goalie and his team made it to the final four for soccer. Next year, they were the state champions in basketball in 3A. I coached them, and my older son, who is now an attorney here in Washington, had three-point records for Washington High School for a while, and my middle son’s team went all the way to the state championship. I always enjoyed coaching, especially basketball and soccer. We had a great soccer program here, so I think it’s what I’d be doing.
What is one of your favorite things about being a judge?
I’ve been here long enough that I know people, I know the families. I feel like sometimes we’re helping families I know that are in my docket, especially domestic, CHINS and juvenile. Some families are struggling, (and I) give them some help. So that part of it is, I feel good about trying to do good to help families deal with similar issues. I just feel like I’ve been here long enough that I know people and have grown up with them or their children have grown up with my children. It’s nice to have that connection.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve received, which I got from Judge Arthur, was to just remember this is not about you. You’re not the advocate — you’re there to make sure that things move, that people are heard and they get their day in court, and you need to make sure you have additional patience. So on my bench when I started, I put a big banner across the top that only I can see, and it does say, “Patience, patience, patience.” And that’s true whether they’re self-represented or they’re not listening to their attorneys, most people just want to know that they’ve been heard, they’ve been respected and they got their day in court. When you’re in practice, sometimes you’re advising your clients who are tied up in things emotionally. They don’t quite agree with attorneys on the law and the evidence. They want somebody that they believe is neutral, that’s going to listen to them and make a decision. And that’s what we’re there to do.
What are some of your hobbies when you’re not on the bench?
I like outdoor stuff. I like doing a lot of my own landscaping and yard work, that kind of thing. I dabble in amateur carpentry; I’m not an expert by any means to make things. I like hiking. I do have kind of a vintage car of sorts, a convertible that we like to keep up and take it out and show off. One day, if I keep playing golf, I’m hoping that the (Professional Golfers’ Association) will call me and I can get on that tour. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
What is something you’ve learned about yourself since becoming a judge?
I learned that I have my mother’s patience and compassion and then my father’s intellect and work ethic, and those two put together, if I keep them in check, (have) helped me comply with my own little banner up there about patience, patience, patience, and just keeping things moving and listening.
What is your favorite memory since being on the bench?
I had a mother coming in to file a protective order on behalf of her son against the neighbor’s 18-year-old daughter. They were indicating that she felt that the neighbor’s daughter was dragging her son out at night; he’s underage and she’s corrupting him. She wanted that stopped, and then when I heard the case, I got these neighbors and their families listening to the evidence. I see that it turns out the daughter actually has caught the young man out in late hours and took him home. The mom worked the late shift, so she said she always took some sleeping medication aid, so she couldn’t hear him getting out. And I thought, “You know what? I have three boys. I know how boys are,” and I can just tell that the young man wasn’t telling the whole thing. So I pointed it out: He’s sneaking out, she’s catching him and bringing him home and you saw that. The young man kind of admitted it. Mother was dismissive and she started crying, the two moms and the daughter, they all start hugging. I pointed out, “It takes a village, and you’re the village.” They all start hugging and we’re all happy. That one just sticks in my mind for some reason. You never see things break down happily like that very often.•
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