James E. Smith, III

James “Jes” E. Smith, III is admitted to practice in all State, Justice, and Municipal courts in the State of MS as well as the Bar for the MS Band of Choctaw Indians. He was Municipal Judge for The City of Carthage from 2008-2011, and was a Municipal prosecutor for 1 year prior to appointment to Judge giving him a unique and encompassing perspective on the local Justice System, therefore making him uniquely qualified to handle your case.

Jes was elected to the Board of Bar Commissioners (this is like the legislature for the State of MS Bar Association) to represent the interests of the attorneys in Leake, Scott, Newton, and Neshoba counties from 2008 to 2011. He practices extensively in the above 4 counties and other counties surrounding Leake. Jes has been a member of the Choctaw Bar since 2004 and has handled hundreds of cases on and off the reservation for tribal members as well as non-tribal members with business in tribal court.

Jes has extensive trial experience in front of juries in Circuit Court with over 200+ felony criminal cases tried in front of juries over the past 10 years. He has handled over a thousand felony cases from start to finish, including charges of capital murder, murder, aggravated assault, felony DUI, embezzlement, countless drug cases, and many more.

He has experience in appeals of felony cases to the MS Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and experience handling Expungement and Certificates of Rehabilitation to restore gun rights. He also has experience with misdemeanors from DUI and other traffic crimes to assaults, possession cases, and embezzlement, and experience in appealing those to Circuit Court. He is also experienced in family law, wills and estates, power of attorney, and other Chancery Court matters.