ANOTHER recent Wake County export aiming for a Moore County judgeship
Everybody, meet Lindsey Smith.
She’s currently practicing law in Carthage. Smith has a website up touting her bid for a district court judge seat. State elections records indicate that on August 23, 2023 she formed a campaign committee for a proposed court run.
According to the website – Smith, her husband and young son moved to Carthage in 2022. She registered to vote there on July 3, 2022. Smith cast her first vote in Moore County on November 8, 2022. (Prior to that date, she voted in Wake and Transylvania counties.)
So, what did Mrs. Smith, Esq. do with herself while in Wake County? Well, she was IDed in the 2022 annual report of the NC Innocence Commission as the group’s executive director. The Innocence Commission devotes itself to reversing criminal convictions for people currently serving in state institutions.
In 2020, she ran for a seat on the Raleigh City Council. At that time, we were all in the midst of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and COVID hubbub. She told The N&O one of her key priorities as a council member would be “local criminal justice reform” — the same verbiage being used by BLM and their fans to power their demands for neutering the police. Despite all that kow-towing to the left, Smith’s campaign for a Raleigh council seat was unsuccessful.
So, let’s review. An election loss in 2020. A move to Moore County in 2022. The formation of a campaign committee in 2023. A tenure in the Wake County Bar and at the state Innocence Commission.
This sounds sort of familiar. It sounds a lot like the strategy used successfully by current Moore County district court judge Beth Tanner. (Many of you may remember Judge Tanner from her appearance in a courthouse controversy involving herself, the former clerk of court, the current clerk of court and a then-serving Superior Court judge.)
Tanner lost a race for Wake County district court in November 2020. State records indicate she registered to vote in Moore County in April 2021. Records indicate she cast her first vote in Moore County on November 2, 2021. (State records indicate that, prior to that, Tanner had voted in Orange and Wake counties.)
Records indicate Tanner organized a campaign committee on February 2, 2022 for her 2022 run for district court judge in Moore County.
It appears that Tanner, like Smith, also served a stint in leadership at the NC Innocence Commission.
Hello! I’m Judge Beth Tanner – referred to in your article. I thought I might provide some relevant facts. When I ran in Wake County, my democrat opponent received more votes. He did not, however, become a judge because he lied about his address. Due to my efforts and the efforts of the Wake County Republican Party, he was disqualified. Not only that, he pleaded guilty to charges related to falsifying his address and also was reprimanded by the NC State Bar. When the State Board of Elections ruled that the governor could appoint for an entire FOUR year term (not just fill the remainder of a partial term, but literally name a judge for an entire unfilled term), the Wake GOP and the NCGOP supported my efforts through the courts with a lawsuit against Governor Roy Cooper. It is unfortunate that the lawsuit was not successful, but my story did not end there. The Republican controlled General Assembly got involved. District Court Judges were previously appointed to fill the remainder of the entire four year term, but the NCGA rewrote the law requiring that appointed District Court Judges have to run as soon as the next election came around. That law made elections fairer and prevented democrat appointees from holding terms beyond the next election cycle. As far as my move to Moore County, that was a family decision made after our youngest daughter, who has autism, was completely destroyed by the Democrat controlled Wake County school system during COVID. We struggled to find a private school that would accept her in Wake County and we struggled with the liberal policies in other areas of county government that impacted our lives. Like many other citizens in Moore County, we chose to move from a liberal area to a conservative one. My husband, who specializes in military family law matters, already had business in Moore County and we heard about an awesome private school, Sandhills Classical Christian School. When Emma got accepted into Sandhills Classical Christian School for the 2021-2022 school year, we praised God for His provision. When I announced my plan to seek a District Court seat here, I announced a run for a seat that was occupied by a registered Democrat. Ultimately, the General Assembly actually created a fifth seat, so now your judicial district has 5 district court judges serving you, not four. The registered Democrat judge elected to run for that fifth seat, and I ran in the seat I originally announced to seek. In addition, when the registered Democrat judge vacated the fifth seat, it opened the way for a fifth Republican judge to occupy that seat so now Moore County is served by five conservative judges, as opposed to the three that were serving Moore County before I moved here. As it turns out, my move here resulted in you having more conservative judges. As far as the Innocence Inquiry Commission – I am now a Commissioner at NCIIC, appointed by Chief Justice Paul Newby himself.
It’s called District Shopping.
WHY Moore Co?
What makes Moore Co so appealing and appeasing to liberal, far-lefties? Isn’t Moore a solid, red county?
Beth Tanner and her friend Lindsey Smith appear to be unscrupulous opportunists. It’s hard to believe that Judge Tanner relocated solely for the schools, especially considering the abundance of excellent schools in Wake County. Judge Tanner, it’s disheartening to see you use your daughter’s disability to further your own promotion. With both of you working for the Innocence Commission, you have the potential to free even more criminals if elected as judges. We need judges who prioritize the well-being of the community, not their personal interests.
Beth Tanner’s decision to move from Wake County and run for judge here seems more strategic than community-focused. After an unsuccessful campaign in Wake, she relocated to Moore County to take advantage of an open seat, campaigning heavily on her daughter’s disability. Since taking office, her actions have reportedly caused significant issues, resulting in her reassignment to Hoke County. This raises serious concerns about her commitment to our community and her ability to uphold the integrity of the judiciary. Moore County deserves judges who prioritize serving the people effectively and ethically. But I digress. The article is about Lindsey Smith. Remove Beth Tanner’s name and insert Lindsey Smith.
Hi! I’m Lindsey Smith and, as this article points out, I am running for District Court Judge in District 29 (Moore and Hoke Counties). There is currently a vacant seat, and I am seeking the appointment to fill the unexpired term of that vacant seat (through 12/31/2026) as well as running in 2026. You can learn more about me by visiting my campaign website, http://www.electlindseysmith.com. Like many of the elected officials in Moore County, and all but one of our District Court Judges, I was not born in Moore County. It took us awhile to get here, but seeds were planted 13 years before we moved. For several years during that time period my mom served the citizens of Moore County as the legislative assistant for Representative Boles. If any of you reached out to his office, you may have spoken to her, and she may have assisted with your request or passed your information on to Representative Boles.
As to my “run” for Raleigh City Council – let me fill in a few blanks that the author left out. First, the sitting Democrat Councilman resigned amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct. The City Council sought to appoint a new Councilmember on a very short timeframe and opened it up to anyone in the district to submit an application. I “ran” very briefly as a conservative Republican in what was an uphill battle for a seat on an all Democrat liberal Raleigh City Council. I certainly believed that a conservative voice was needed in Raleigh. While the author here used the language “Black Lives Matter” and “criminal justice reform” but only linked to my full response in the N&O (which most of us can’t see because of the pay wall), I thought I would provide the full question and answer: “What do you consider to be the top three priorities for the City of Raleigh and why?” “Public safety, in particular local criminal justice reform to encompass community-oriented policing, reentry initiatives, the school to prison pipeline, and substance abuse issues in our community. Economic development and community partnerships with businesses. Quality of life, to encompass outdoor green space ant trials, as well as growth and housing. Policy decisions in these areas in particular affect the well-being of our community members. Our focus should be on them.” To provide some context, in February 2020, the Raleigh City Council had abruptly, without input from the community, voted to disband the Citizen Advisory Councils which, among other things, allowed for open dialogue between citizens and law enforcement. By this time in 2020, we were seeing violent protests and cries for defunding the police in Raleigh. I believed that a conservative voice was needed on the City Council and believed that my background in the criminal justice field would be beneficial to opening dialogue and creating a safer community for both our citizens and law enforcement through hopefully reengaging the Citizen Advisory Councils (which were not restarted in Raleigh until 2024) and through community policing efforts. Our own Moore County Sheriff, Ronnie Fields, engages in community policing efforts as well, and was doing so during this same time period. These are not liberal policies. These are tried and true law enforcement and community strategies that when implemented properly have a positive impact on the community as they lower crime rates and show citizens and communities that law enforcement is there to help people within those communities. This allows the people in the community to build trust and rapport with law enforcement so that when a crime does occur, they will turn to law enforcement to assist them in solving the crime rather than turn from law enforcement. When this occurs, everyone wins.
I am happy to talk to voters about my campaign and experience (the Innocence Commission’s annual report linked by the author is a great place to get an understanding of the work I was doing from 2010-2023 which was supported by the Republican led General Assembly when they more than doubled our operating budget in late 2021 under my leadership as outlined in that report). Please feel free to contact me at Lindsey@electlindseysmith.com.
Lindsey Smith’s career has been dedicated to releasing convicted criminals by attacking law enforcement, undermining prosecutors, and forcing victims of crimes to relive their pain years and decades later by forced interviews. Cleveland County Republican DA called the Innocence Commission “the plaything of the wealthy, woke left.” Another conservative DA Jim O’Neill called it a waste of tax payer money. Lindsey has almost no trial court experience. She’s been a Raleigh bureaucratic attorney.
She wants to reform local police AKA defund and dismantle the police. She said this in the height of the 2020 BLM riots. We all know what “local criminal justice reform” meant in 2020. It was about defunding the police and undermining the work they do.
“ Citizen Advisory Councils” is a back door way for liberal activist to undermine police chiefs and sheriffs by second guessing decisions of career law enforcement.
Who is Lindsey Smith? She has dedicated the bulk of her career to releasing convicted criminals by attacking police and their investigations. Her last attempt to service her home Raleigh made “local criminal justice reform” her top priority. She too BLM for Moore County.
If you care about law enforcement, do not vote Lindsey Smith.
Lindsey Smith, asserting ties to Moore County on the basis of your mother’s employment under Jamie Boles, does little to substantiate any authentic affiliation with the area. Rather, it underscores the intricate web of connections involving Jamie Boles, Beth Tanner, and the state funding funneled toward the Innocence Commission, raising critical questions about transparency and influence.
Coop just commuted how many prisoners on the way out the door.
BIden released 4 Yemini terrorists, tied directly to Al Queda, Bin Laden, FROM GITMO….Yes, GITMO yesterday…
Save the rhetoric on the ‘commission’.
BLM destroyed, burned and murdered and YET not one iota of justice.
CRIME is abundant in NC and THE USA.
I DON’T care to hear about ANY prison networking….
Seems Tanner & Smith have a passion and that passion is prison reform….
While Lindsey Smith portrays a long-standing (over a decade, in fact) connection to Moore County, her recent history suggests otherwise. Moving here after an unsuccessful campaign in Raleigh and seeking an appointment to a judicial seat raises valid questions about her true intentions. Sound familiar? This mirrors the actions of her close friend Beth Tanner, who also moved here after an unsuccessful campaign in Wake. This suggests, for both of them, a pattern of seeking political opportunities rather than a genuine dedication to Moore County. Her brief campaign in a liberal area doesn’t reflect the strong conservative roots she claims to represent here. Furthermore, emphasizing her mother’s work with Representative Boles doesn’t equate to her own involvement or commitment.
Her advocacy for police reform appears to conflict with Moore County’s strong support for law enforcement. While she references Sheriff Ronnie Fields in her statements, there is no public evidence of a direct connection between them. Beth Tanner and Lindsey Smith are directly involved with the Innocence Inquiry Commission, which has historically undermined law enforcement efforts.
Moore County deserves leaders who are not only transparent about their intentions but also aligned with the community’s values and dedicated to upholding the integrity of our institutions. We need and deserve leaders who are deeply invested in our community, not opportunists leveraging superficial ties to advance their careers.
“Shame on both of you, Beth Tanner and Lindsey Smith. Beth Tanner, you should be ashamed of using your daughter’s disability in all your campaigns. Lindsey Smith, shame on you for using Ronnie Fields’ name in your post. He’s a long-time lawman who locks up crooks, and you two work to get them out. Shame on both of you.”