Former Trustee Stephen Smith '88 has been charged with one count of domestic battery in the presence of a minor under 16 years old, a class D felony punishable by up to three years in prison, according to court documents obtained by The Dartmouth. Smith, a criminal law professor at the University of Notre Dame, appeared in St. Joseph Superior Court in South Bend, Ind., on Tuesday. His trial will begin Jan. 3.
The documents allege that Smith tried to punch his wife, Lora Gallagher Smith, on June 24. After his wife dodged the blow, Smith pushed her to the floor and kicked her, according to the South Bend Police Department report written by Officer Brad Ernsberger and obtained by The Dartmouth.
According to the report, Smith's wife said she and Smith had returned from an evening out with friends when she said something that upset him. After yelling at her, he unsuccessfully attempted to punch her in the face and then knocked her to the ground and kicked her on her right hip.
Smith's 23-year-old son told police officers who arrived at the scene that night that the couple's 10-year-old son was in the room next to his parents as the alleged incident was occurring, according to the report. The older son instructed the younger son to call the police, and after briefly fighting with his father, the older son was able to get his younger brother and his mother out of the house to another location nearby.
Lights were being turned off in the house when the police arrived at the scene, so they surrounded the area in an attempt to illuminate the house. Smith exited the house and was arrested as soon as officers had finished surrounding the house, according to the report.
In a statement to police, Smith's wife reported that her husband "gets angry at her frequently and it is not uncommon for him to assault her." The oldest son told officers in the report that "lately the fighting and beating [had] been becoming more frequent."
Smith pled not guilty to the charge and posted $1,000 bond in June, The Observer, Notre Dame's student newspaper, reported.
Smith is currently still teaching a criminal law course at Notre Dame, university spokesman Dennis Brown said in an interview with The Dartmouth. If found guilty of domestic battery, Smith could still be allowed to teach at Notre Dame, according to Brown.
"We look at every case individually," he said.
Brown declined to comment further on the matter.
Smith was elected to the College's Board of Trustees in May 2007 as a petition candidate with over 54 percent of the vote. In June 2011, Chairman of the Board Stephen Mandel '78 announced that Smith would resign after completing his first term.
Smith clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David B. Sentelle after graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law. Smith majored in philosophy and history at the College.
