Steve Smith, Hamilton County's public defender, was recently elected president of the Tennessee Public Defenders Conference.
The statewide conference is made up of public defenders from all 31 districts in Tennessee. Smith was elected by his peers.
Smith is a Hamilton County native and a 1992 graduate of Red Bank High School. He received his bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and later studied law at the Cecil C. Humphries School of Law at the University of Memphis.
Smith's role as president will include working with public defenders across the state and building and maintaining relationships with legislators while working with policy.
Smith will serve as president for a one-year term.