Judge Beth Freshwater-Smith

Special Superior Court Judge Beth Freshwater Smith has worked as a public servant for over 37 years. She served as an Assistant District Attorney and Senior Assistant District Attorney in Wilson, Nash and Edgecombe counties for over 28 years. She became a District Court Judge in 2016 and was reelected in 2020.

She is nationally recognized for her work in the area of Juvenile Law and has served on various committees and commissions during her tenure both at the state and national level. Most recently, she served as a member of the North Carolina Courts Commission, on the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission’s Juvenile Justice Committee and the State Advisory Board.

Judge Freshwater Smith received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (81) and Juris Doctor from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University (86). She grew up in Carteret County and resides in Wilson, NC with her husband, Richard T. Smith. They have two adult children.