Attorney General Nominee Ariel K. Smith. Photo Credit: GOV'T HOUSE
Governor Albert Bryan on Monday sent the nomination of Ariel K. Smith to the 35th Legislature for the position of Virgin Islands Attorney General.
Attorney General Nominee Smith currently serves as the chief of the Civil Division in the Virgin Islands Department of Justice, a position she has held since 2016, according to Gov't House.
In his letter to Senate President Novelle Francis Jr., Mr. Bryan asked that the Legislature act expeditiously and favorably on his nomination of Attorney Smith, “to prevent any delays in the official functions of the department.”
Ms. Smith has a juris doctorate degree from Rutgers University School of Law in New Jersey.
As chief of the Civil Division in the Department of Justice, Ms. Smith oversees a staff of five attorneys and two support staff and manages a caseload of more than 40 cases pertaining to the executive branch and instrumentalities of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Gov't House said.
Prior to being named chief of the Civil Division, Attorney General Nominee Smith served as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Division for seven years. In that post, she drafted and filed complaints and prepared and presented dispositive and non-dispositive motions, participated in mediation conferences, and represented the Government of the Virgin Islands before the District Court of the Virgin Islands and the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
According to the release, Ms. Smith also served as assistant territorial public defender for five years and performed criminal defense of misdemeanor and major felony offenses, including domestic violence and white collar matters, including conducting more than 20 jury trials.
Prior to that, A.G. Nominee Smith was an associate attorney for Smock and Moorhead in private practice where she practiced general civil litigation with emphasis on insurance defense, bankruptcy, probate, family, labor, real estate, and commercial transactions.
