A high-ranking Wyoming judge who served time for drug trafficking has revealed how her time in prison changed her life.
Terri Smith, 39, was the chief judge of the Wind River Tribal Court when she was arrested for distributing oxycodone and cocaine in 2019.
The mother of two had been leading a double life while serving on the court. She was addicted to drugs and worked with her sister Jerri Lee Smith to obtain pills in Utah and then sell them in Fremont County and on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Smith pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of supervised release, which ultimately led to her recovery.
“I was like, ‘I’d rather be here in this cell than be an addict out there.’ I was a slave to that. I was,” Smith said. State of the Cowboys Diary.
Terri Smith (pictured), 39, was the chief judge of the Wind River Tribal Court when she was arrested for distributing oxycodone and cocaine in 2019.
Smith revealed that serving time in prison changed her life and ultimately led to her recovery.
‘I don’t have to live like this anymore, because before I was accused and held accountable, I would wake up every day thinking, “Am I going to continue like this for the rest of my life? Am I going to live this double life to feed my addiction?”
“I didn’t see any way out because there was a huge stigma around addiction.”
Smith was a prominent judge and attorney who served on the bench and previously worked as a private attorney for her tribe, the Northern Arapaho.
However, her battle with addiction began while she was studying at the University of Utah, when her long-time boyfriend died from a drug and alcohol-related problem six weeks before her graduation in 2007.
Smith told Cowboy State Daily that he began taking prescription painkillers to ease the pain.
“I was never taught how to grieve,” Smith said. “And Native people aren’t taught how to grieve on a day-to-day basis, and we have so much pain, so much death and so much loss.”
As a judge, she lived a double life, working with her sister to obtain pills in Utah and then sell them in Fremont County and on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
After law school, Smith returned to Wind River and began working for the private law firm representing the Northern Arapaho.
Five years later she was asked to serve as an associate justice on what was then an independent Northern Arapaho court.
She became the chief judge when the Northern Arapaho Court merged with the Eastern Shoshone Court to form the Wind River Tribal Court.
While his legal career was flourishing, Smith secretly worked with his twin sister to traffic and distribute drugs.
Police finally caught up with her in 2018 when the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation launched an investigation into her illegal activities.
In March 2019, an FBI agent arrived at Smith’s office (she was nearly eight months pregnant at the time) and her world fell apart.
“I immediately realized he was there to help me,” she said. “He had pictures (of drugs or money) and he asked me questions.”
U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced Smith to six months in prison, then six months of probation with an ankle monitoring device at home and three years of parole.
His arrest and prison sentence ultimately came as a relief to Smith, who said he took the opportunity to cleanse and do better for his children.
Smith said she became addicted to drugs while dealing with the death of her college boyfriend.
Smith now works as a peer support specialist on the Wind River Indian Reservation to help other addicts and spends time with his children, now nine and five years old.
“I wake up and I’m thankful for every little thing I have: a bed, a pillow, a shower and just being there for my kids,” Smith said. “I know what it’s like to not have them.”
While on parole, Smith got a job as a room cleaner at the local Holiday Inn and earned her first paycheck for physical labor.
“I was very proud of myself when I got it. I’d never had to do that kind of work before and I really appreciate it now,” she said.
After seeing how his life changed, Johnson ended his probation early.
“All the credit goes to Terri. She’s the person who really accomplished everything in her life. You have to give her 100 percent of the credit,” Johnson said.
Smith now works as a peer support specialist on the Wind River Indian Reservation to help other addicts and spends time with his children, now nine and five years old.
“I worked to improve and do better, so I’m not ashamed of (my past),” he said.
“And I want people to see that no matter who you are or how far you’ve fallen, you can learn and do better.”
