CrimeCon, Citizen Journalists and Investigative Social Media – Considerations in the Age of True Crime Sensationalism

Rachel Smith  is a veteran prosecutor, administrator, and education with 30 years’ experience. Prior to starting as a prosecutor in 1993, Rachel worked for a general litigation firm as an associate. In 1993, Rachel Smith became an Assistant Circuit Attorney in St Louis and thereafter prosecuted every type of criminal case. In 1998, Rachel became a Special Prosecutor for the Missouri Attorney General traveling the State handling primarily capital murder and public corruption cases. In 2001, Rachel returned to the Circuit Attorney’s Office as a member of its Executive Team – serving as both Chief of the Community Affairs Bureau and later as Chief Trial Attorney. She assisted in office administration, management of staff and attorneys, legislative matters, supervised the community and communications teams and oversaw special investigations and complex litigation. She was an Adjunct Professor and Clinical Co- Director for Washington University School of Law – Prosecution Clinic. She has served at the National Associations of Attorney General’s trial school as a trial skills’ instructor. She has instructed for the Missouri Police Chief’s Command College through Lincoln University on multiple topics. She has taught for several police departments and police academies nationwide. She has presented, taught, and lectured for various programs for prosecutors and prosecutors’ training courses nationwide. Rachel has served on several statewide committees including the Missouri Supreme Court and Bar committees on Criminal Code Re-write and Criminal Justice Taskforce and the Missouri Prosecutor’s Legislative and Capitol Litigation committees. Rachel Smith chaired both the Missouri Prosecutors’ Best Practices Subcommittee on Special Victims from 2013 to 2015 and Best Practices Subcommittee on Ethics from 2015 to 2017. Rachel’s separate law practice works with prosecutors around the Nation. She serves as a special prosecutor for complex litigation, a trial coach and mentor and prosecutor’s consultant helping shape policy, advise on best practices and access offices. In her spare time, Rachel likes to write, wrangle her three teens and volunteer for community organizations including the Boy Scouts of America. 

Rob Wood is the elected prosecutor for Madison County, Idaho. He has held this position since the beginning of 2020 and has worked in the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office since July of 2014. Madison County is a fast-growing community with a current population of about 58,000. Rob has experience in a wide variety of criminal matters from traffic infractions to complex first degree murders. Many of the cases Rob has managed over the years involve complex mental health issues with both defendants and victims.
Recently, Rob successfully tried a high-profile case including multiple murders and conspiracies to commit murder charges, involving various jurisdictions. (State v. Lori Vallow/Daybell) He co-led the litigation team of five attorneys, seven state and federal law enforcement agencies and more than eight terabytes of information. Given the complexity, scale and national attention of this criminal matter, Rob has focused much of his time on this case over the last three years. The large level of media exposure in this case has provided Rob with valuable insights regarding high-profile cases and how to navigate media exposure while protecting the integrity of the investigation and the rights of the defendants.
Prior to serving as a prosecutor, Rob was in private practice at the firm of Rigby, Andrus, and Rigby in Rexburg, Idaho for five years, where he focused on water law, criminal defense, and family law.
Rob graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geology from BYU-Idaho and obtained his law degree from the University of Idaho. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and spent a year in the Middle East as a part of his service.