Judge J. Curtis Smith of Dunlap, TN; ethical ogre

The state of Tennessee presented J. Curtis Smith with a law license in 1973 after he graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Law.

The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct found and/or that was alleged by Ben Farmer that Judge Smith was guilty of engaging in the following misconduct.

Judge Smith is alleged to have engaged in the following misconduct by Ben Farmer and/or the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.

The ethics complaint is related to ongoing divorce proceedings between Pikeville husband and wife, Ben and Stacy Farmer, who recently ran against each other for Bledsoe County school board, which Ben won.

For further insight into the misconduct of Judge Smith, visit the article exposing the misconduct of Judge Howard Upchurch at the URL at the end of this article.

• Abused his authority in accepting inappropriate communications from Judge Upchurch regarding the restraining order
• Improperly acted on the request from Judge Upchurch, who had represented one of Smith's family members in a recent divorce
• Presided over restraining order hearing after Judge Angel and Judge Graham recused themselves
• Knowingly proceeding with the restraining order even though he knew the rules were not being followed
• Violated the right to due process by not allowing Ben Farmer to have a legal representative on the restraining order
• Judge Smith’s personal familiarity with the parties involved and his understanding of the rules of conduct should have prompted him to report the inappropriate contact by Judge Upchurch to the Board of Professional Responsibility and recuse himself from issuing a restraining order
• Violate Rules of Judicial Conduct by failing to report his misconduct

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the cheerleaders for Judicial Misfits sitting on the Tennessee Supreme Court punished Smith by gifting him with a complimentary admonition.  

As we speak (ca. August 2020), Smith continues to sit as a 12th Judicial District Circuit Judge in Dunlap, Tennessee.