Female Wyoming judge, 39, busted for dealing cocaine reveals why she was HAPPIER in jail than the outside world

A high-ranking Wyoming judge who served situation clip for dealing narcotics revealed really clip successful nan slammer changed her life.

Terri Smith, 39, was nan Wind River Tribal Court caput judge erstwhile she was busted for distributing oxycodone and cocaine successful 2019.

The mother-of-two had been surviving a double life while serving connected nan court. She was addicted to narcotics and worked pinch her sister Jerri Lee Smith to get pills successful Utah past waste them in in Fremont County and connected nan Wind River Indian Reservation.

Smith pleaded blameworthy to the federal supplier charges and was sentenced to six months successful situation and six months supervised merchandise - which yet led to her recovery.

'I was thinking, "I'd alternatively beryllium present successful this jailhouse compartment than being an addict retired there." I was a enslaved to that. I was,' Smith told Cowboy State Daily.

'I don't person to unrecorded for illustration this anymore, because anterior to maine being indicted and held accountable, each azygous time I woke up like, "Is this going to beryllium maine for nan remainder of my life? Am I going to unrecorded this double life to provender my habit?"

'I saw nary measurement retired of it because location was specified stigma pinch addiction.'

Smith was a salient judge and lawyer, serving connected nan tribunal and antecedently moving arsenic a backstage lawyer to her tribe, nan Northern Arapaho.

However, her conflict pinch addiction began successful undergrad astatine the University of Utah erstwhile her longtime fellow died of a drug-and-alcohol-related rumor six weeks earlier graduation successful 2007.

Smith told nan Cowboy State Daily she started taking prescription-strength symptom pills to numb nan pain.

'I was ne'er really taught to woody pinch grief,' Smith said. '(And) natives, we're not really taught to woody pinch condolences connected an mundane level — and we person truthful overmuch grief, we person truthful overmuch decease and loss.'

After rule school, Smith returned to Wind River and started moving for nan backstage rule patient that represented the Northern Arapaho

Five years later she was asked to service arsenic an subordinate judge successful what was past an independent Northern Arapaho Court. 

She became nan main judge erstwhile nan Northern Arapaho Court reunited pinch nan Eastern Shoshone Court to shape nan Wind River Tribal Court.

While her rule profession was excelling, Smith was secretly moving pinch her copy sister to postulation and administer drugs.

Law enforcement yet caught up pinch her successful 2018 erstwhile nan FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs and nan Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation began an investigation into her forbidden activities.

In March 2019 an FBI supplier came to Smith's agency - who was astir 8 months pregnant astatine nan clip - and her world came crashing down.

'It quickly became evident he was (actually) location for me,' she said. 'He had pictures (of supplier aliases money drops). He was asking questions.'

U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced Smith to six months successful situation past six months of ankle-monitor probation astatine location and 3 years probation. 

Her apprehension and situation condemnation yet came arsenic a alleviation for Smith who said she utilized nan opportunity to get sober and do amended for her kids.

'I get up and I’m thankful for each small point I person — a bed, a pillow, a ablution and conscionable being adjacent to my kids,' said Smith. 'I cognize what it’s for illustration to not person them.'

While connected probation Smith sewage a job as a room cleaner for nan section Holiday Inn and earned her first beingness labour paycheck.

'I was truthful proud of myself erstwhile I sewage it. I ne'er had to do that type of work, and I person truthful overmuch appreciation for it now,' she said.

After seeing really she turned her life around, Johnson ended her probation early.

 'All in installments goes to Terri. She’s nan personification who really accomplished everything successful her life. Give her 100% of nan credit,' Johnson said.

Now Smith useful arsenic a adjacent support specialist on nan Wind River Indian Reservation to thief different addicts and spends clip pinch her sons, now ages 9 and five.

'I did nan activity to get amended and to do better, truthful I’m not ashamed of (my past),' she said. 

'And I want group to see, nary matter who you are, really acold you’ve fallen, you tin study and do better.'