September 6, 2022

Days after being re-elected, Nashville School of Law Professor and Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Smith passed away on Sunday, September 4, 2022. He was 62.

Judge Smith graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and became a licensed attorney in 1988.  He started his legal career working with the Davidson County Office of the District Attorney General. He left the District Attorney’s office in 1990 and spent the next 19 years in private practice.

Smith was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court Division IV in March 2009 by Gov. Phil Bredesen. He was re-elected to his seat in 2010, 2014 and was recently sworn in after winning in the 2022 election.

Smith became the presiding judge of the 20th Judicial District, which includes Davidson County, on Sept. 1, 2022. He was one of two judges in Nashville who presided over family law, divorce, and domestic issues.

Since 2011, Judge Smith taught Family Law and Domestic Trial Practice at Nashville School of Law.