KIP Staff

LINDA A. SMITH - SUPERVISING ATTORNEY

Linda A. Smith worked as a social worker prior to graduating from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1994.  After having worked for the Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Linda began work in 1995 in the Department Of Public Advocacy as a Post-Conviction attorney in the LaGrange Office.  She then transferred to the Frankfort Trial Office and eventually transferred to the Kenton County Trial Office.  In 2000, Linda became the Directing Attorney of the Mason, Bracken, and Fleming County trial office.  Linda then went into private practice with offices in both Florence and Covington, Kentucky. During that time Linda remained a contract Public Advocate and was a Federal Public Defender for the United States District Court located in Covington, Kentucky.  After seven years in private practice, Linda returned to DPA to work in the Capital Trial Branch.  Most recently, Linda was honored to work as a staff attorney for Judge Michelle M. Keller, Kentucky Court of Appeals.

JAMES “JIMMER” DUDLEY

Prior to joining the Kentucky Innocence Project, Jimmer Dudley worked as a security officer with the University of Kentucky Police Department assigned to the UK Chandler Medical Center.  He also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1996 until 2007 as a Marine musician, a Criminal Investigator with USMC Criminal Investigation Division and as a Marine Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.  With the NCIS, Jimmer completed a tour in Iraq fulfilling a General Crimes mission.

Jimmer completed several training programs with the NCIS, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA, including Special Agent Basic Training, Sexual Assault Investigations and Victim Interviewing, High Risk Operations Training, and the Reid Techniques of Interviewing and Investigation, including Child Abuse Investigations.  He also attended the United States Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, where he completed the Apprentice CID Special Agent Course and Child Abuse Prevention and Investigative Techniques Course.

Jimmer is a 2009 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University.