By Anthoney Lewis
Hayneville, AL- This week, Attorney Ashley Smith announced that she will be running for District Judge of Lowndes County.
Smith says that she wanted to run because she realized that the people of Lowndes County need a strong judge, who is not afraid to go against the status quo. “The people of Lowndes County need a judge who is not afraid to stand up for what is right, just, and fair. One who has integrity and is not driven by personal political desires, but rather a desire to administer justice and treat people with the fairness, respect, and dignity they deserve.”
Attorney Smith is also inspired by her grandfather Charles Smith, Sr., who was elected as the first Black County Commissioner of Lowndes County in 1972. He is well known in Lowndes County for the work he did with SNCC workers and local leaders to help Blacks register to vote during the Civil Rights Movement.
Smith attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for two years before transferring to The University of Alabama where she graduated in May 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology in 2006. She received her juris doctor from The University of Alabama School of Law in May 2009. After passing the bar exam months later, Smith started working at a private firm for a short time before taking a job as a Legislative Analyst with the Alabama Legislative Reference Service. After 3 years with the State Legislature, she made the decision to re-enter private practice. A year later, in 2015 Smith and her law partner opened an office in Hayneville.
Ashley’s Bar Memberships include Alabama State Bar, 2009; Florida State Bar, 2010; and Georgia State Bar, 2014. In 2016, she was recognized in The National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. She is also a member of several organizations to include Alabama Lawyers Association, Treasurer (2015-2016), Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program, Montgomery County Bar Association, Montgomery County Volunteer Lawyers Program, and Capital City Bar Association, Treasurer (2015-2016). Ashley is also a recent graduate of the inaugural class of the James W. Wright Leadership Development Institute. If elected, Smith would make history as the first Black district or circuit judge of Lowndes County.
All rights reserved, Gumptown Magazine. Copyright 2017.
