Stan Smith
James C. Garner
Jason Rowland
Mr. Smith was born in Macon, Georgia, and attended the public schools there, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law. He was admitted to practice law in 1977, and has resided in Dublin, Georgia for the past 38 years. He and his wife, Annette, have 2 adult children and attend First United Methodist Church in Dublin, Georgia.
He worked his way both through undergraduate school and graduated from Mercer University in 1973 and thereafter attended law school. He obtained his Jurist Doctor Degree from the Walter F. George School of Law in June of 1977.
Mr. Smith has practiced law in the public and private sector since July 1, 1977, when he became the first Assistant District Attorney for the Dublin Judicial Circuit. In 1979, he entered into private practice and was appointed as Juvenile Court Judge for Laurens County, and served in that capacity for the next 18 years while practicing law.
He began private practice of law as an associate with Douglas & Robertson, which became Robertson & Smith when the Honorable Dubignion Douglas was appointed to Superior Court Judge for the Dublin Judicial Circuit. He is a former member of Nelson, Gillis & Smith, where he practiced 10 years. In 2000, Mr. Smith was elected as a Judge to the Superior Court and served almost 12 years before retiring and re-entering private practice. He is now the managing partner of
Smith, Garner & Rowland LLC, here in Dublin.
Mr. Smith is a member of Gideons International, and while as Superior Court Judge, served as Administrative Judge for the Eighth Judicial Administrative District, served on the Council of Superior Court Judges and the Judicial Council of Georgia, served on the Legislative Committee, Drug Court Committee, and the Compensation Retirement Committee with a Council of Superior Court Judges and as a former member of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges.
Mr. Garner was born in Bainbridge, Georgia, and was raised in the Orianna community of Treutlen County, Georgia. He and his wife, April, and their four children, all attend the Soperton United Methodist Church in Soperton.
He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree, Cum Laude, from Mercer University in 1993 with majors in both History and Political Science. An ROTC scholarship award winner, Mr. Garner was commissioned in the United States Army through the ROTC program upon graduation from Mercer. He then immediately went on to the University of Georgia Law School where he received his Jurist Doctor Degree, also Cum Laude, in 1996.
Following his passing of the Georgia Bar, Mr. Garner entered the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp as a JAG Officer. His Army career included work in both the civil and criminal fields of law. He served as a Claims Attorney, Hospital Attorney, and Trial Counsel (prosecutor) while a member of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He then served as a Trial Defense Counsel attached to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Achieving the rank of Captain, Mr. Garner is also a graduate of the Airborne and Air Assault schools and received several service ribbons.
Mr. Garner’s public service has continued following his time in the U.S. Army. In the past he has served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Dublin Judicial Circuit and the Solicitor-General of the Treutlen County State Court. In 2008, Mr. Garner was appointed by the Governor of the State of Georgia to serve as the Judge of the Treutlen County State Court, a position to which he has twice been re-elected.
Mr. Garner’s prior private law practice has included being a sole practitioner and time with two law firms. Mr. Garner and retired Superior Court Judge J. Stanley Smith, Jr, along with W. Jason Rowland, have formed the law partnership of Smith, Garner & Rowland, LLC, Attorneys At Law, where he is a partner and practices both in the civil and criminal fields of law.
Mr. Garner’s outside interests and activities are centered around his family, his church, and Georgia football.
Jason Rowland was born in Macon, GA and raised in Johnson County, GA on his family’s
farm where he still resides with his wife Kelli. He and his family attend the First
Christian Church in Wrightsville. Mr. Rowland is the former owner of The Seafood
Shack, Inc., as well as the former Vice President of Parker Fish Company, Inc., both
in Wrightsville.
In December of 1998, he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from
Georgia College and State University. In 2008, Jason obtained an Associate’s Degree
in Criminal Justice from Middle Georgia College, which he completed with honors.
After Jason’s family business was sold in 2008, he began the process of applying to
law school. He was admitted to Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in the fall of
2010. While in his second year of law school, Jason was fortunate enough to be able
to clerk for the Dublin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judges for one semester.
Jason graduated in May of 2013 and finished in the top 25% of his class. He then
successfully completed the Georgia Bar Exam in July of 2013. Jason immediately
began working under the supervision of Stan Smith and has been employed at Smith &
Garner, LLC since then. In November of 2013, he was sworn into the Superior Courts
of Georgia. In January of 2015 Jason became a named partner at the law firm of Smith, Garner & Rowland, LLC.
In his free time, Jason enjoys spending time with his wife & their daughter Sadie Gray,
cooking, hunting, and fishing.
