---
title: "Josh Smith | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-25"
---

# Josh Smith

Thomas County Probate Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Thomas County Probate Court
- State: Georgia
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices and recording

Scope: statewide

Georgia's class-specific Uniform Court Rules govern electronic devices and recording in state trial courts. Before using recording, photography, livestreaming, or similar courtroom technology, confirm the governing rule and the assigned court's procedure.

Evidence excerpt: Uniform Superior, Juvenile, Magistrate, Municipal and Probate Court Rules

[Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000/)
- [Official roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000/)
- [Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
- [Judicial Council of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000/)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000",
      "name": "Josh Smith | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Josh Smith, Thomas County Probate Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-08-25",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000#judge",
      "name": "Josh Smith",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "Thomas County Probate Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Georgia",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/georgia"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Josh Smith",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/josh-smith-ga-probate-67a0d9d2f15d9a02cf4da000"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Biography

### Professional career


### Education


### Additional information

- In June 2025, he was appointed Deputy Director of the BOP, the first former prisoner to hold any position at the agency
- Pardon and appointment: President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2021.
- Post‐prison career: After release in 2003, he founded a business, later sold it, and created the Fourth Purpose Foundation, a faith‐based nonprofit working with incarcerated people
- He pleaded guilty in 1998 to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and marijuana, and served five years in a federal boot camp in Kentucky
- Joshua J. Smith was arrested in 1996 in Tennessee on charges related to conspiring to import marijuana and cocaine.
- There is no public record of a judge named Josh Smith in the provided information.
- Controversy: His tenure drew scrutiny over his criminal record, staff morale, and alleged favoritism toward inmates.
- He replaced about 70% of top BOP staff and was criticized by union representatives, though he defended his leadership style



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Georgia Probate Court Rule 11 — virtual proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-fd6e1558b530329a117d6f9d) — Georgia Probate Courts only. Virtual proceedings; consent, exceptions and judicial orders control. Dated 2023 source, later amendments not exhaustively certified. [Official source](https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Rule-11-Order_approved.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.