Department Information
Additional Information
Contact Information
Location
Law Enforcement Center
230 N Main Street, Suite 125
Driggs, ID 83422
Other
208-776-8300 (phone)
208-776-8302 (fax)
[email protected]
Hours
Monday - Friday: 9 - 5, or by appointment
Official Facebook:
@TetonCountyProsecutingAttorney
Department Home
Bailey A. Smith - Prosecuting Attorney
Ms. Smith was elected as Prosecuting Attorney in November 2020 and took office in January 2021. As Prosecuting Attorney, Ms. Smith is the highest ranking legal official in Teton County, and oversees the criminal and civil divisions of the Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. In addition to her management role, Ms. Smith personally litigates all felony criminal cases and mental commitments in the County and provides 24-hour-a-day legal counsel to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office. Ms. Smith also handles select misdemeanor, juvenile, civil defense, risk management and discrete advisory matters.
Prior to being elected as Prosecuting Attorney, Ms. Smith served Teton County as Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. As Chief Deputy, Ms. Smith handled felony criminal cases and assisted former Prosecuting Attorney Billie Siddoway with misdemeanor matters and managing the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Before moving to Teton County, Ms. Smith worked for over six years as a litigator at prominent law firms in New York City. There, she handled high-stakes criminal and regulatory investigations involving money laundering, insider trading, accounting fraud and bribery. She also handled complex commercial disputes and advised clients on a range of regulatory matters. Aside from her paying work, Ms. Smith provided pro-bono legal services to individuals in need. She represented indigent clients in numerous criminal matters involving issues such as narcotics trafficking, identity theft, credit card fraud, battery, supervised release violations and government services fraud. In 2018, she worked with Lawyers Without Borders in Tanzania training prosecutors and judges on the prosecution of human trafficking cases and evidentiary and case management skills.
Ms. Smith earned her J.D. with high honors from the George Washington University Law school in Washington, D.C. While there, she worked for the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Prior to law school, Ms. Smith attended the University of Richmond and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in political science and double minors in Spanish and Italian.
In her free time, Ms. Smith is an outdoor enthusiast and loves to horseback ride, ski and hike. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, friends and Bernese Mountain Dog, Zoe.
What We Do
The Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney works diligently in the pursuit of justice while protecting our community. We prosecute all felony, misdemeanor and infraction violations of state and county law that occur within Teton County and that are brought by state or county law enforcement. This includes violent and non-violent offenses. We also prosecute city ordinances pursuant to a contract with the City of Victor. Our attorneys work closely with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police, Idaho Fish and Game, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies to build cases and prosecute the offenders. We also handle certain appeals of criminal convictions and petitions for post-conviction relief.
In addition to cases involving adult perpetrators, the Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney also handles juvenile matters in the County. This includes cases where juveniles commit misdemeanor and felony crimes, but also offenses such as truancy, runaway and beyond-control-of-parent. In many cases, our attorneys work to get juvenile offenders into Teton County’s Juvenile Diversion Program and collaborate closely with the Juvenile Probation Department to help get the juvenile the guidance, rehabilitation, and support that they need. We also collaborate closely with the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute child protection cases.
In the civil realm, the Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney provides civil legal counsel to the Board of County Commissioners, the Sheriff, the Treasurer, the Clerk, the Assessor, the Coroner, and other county department heads and employees. This includes researching and drafting legal memoranda and opinions, negotiating and preparing contracts, preparing ordinances and resolutions, advising officials on personnel matters, and drafting and reviewing findings of fact and conclusions of law in administrative board proceedings. We also handle administrative appeals and warrants, prosecute involuntary mental commitments, and defend the County against lawsuits for damages and other relief.