Michael Smith, Attorney and Legal Instructor for Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training, brings extensive prosecutorial, litigation, and military experience to his work training law enforcement. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law and began his professional career following eight years of honorable service in the United States Marine Corps, including multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His background in leadership, discipline, and operational decision making continues to shape his practical and direct approach to legal instruction.
He currently serves as an Assistant District Attorney in Mississippi, where he has litigated more than 1,000 felony cases involving violent crime, drug offenses, sexual assaults, crimes against children, robbery, kidnapping, and complex investigations. His responsibilities include handling all pretrial motions, developing case strategy, conducting jury trials, and working directly with victims and law enforcement throughout the prosecution process. In addition to his courtroom work, he regularly lectures nationwide to officers, prosecutors, and judges on search and seizure, civil asset forfeiture, report writing, and courtroom testimony, and routinely consults with agencies to support best practices in patrol and investigations.
Prior to returning to prosecution, Michael was a founding partner in a litigation focused law firm where he handled high stakes civil and governmental cases, including work as a Special Assistant Attorney General in major statewide investigations. This combination of criminal prosecution, civil litigation, and military leadership allows him to offer officers a well rounded and realistic understanding of how enforcement decisions are evaluated in court. Agencies value his depth of experience, clear teaching style, and ability to connect constitutional principles to real world law enforcement challenges.