Justice Smyth, upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.
After his graduation from law school, Justice Smyth began his career in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. He went on to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a faculty member at the Department of Justice National Advocacy Center, and eventually became Chief of the Springfield branch office. In 2015 he was appointed Associate Justice of the Pittsfield District Court, and he was elevated to First Justice in 2018. He presided over the Berkshire County Drug Court from 2017 to 2022.
Justice Smyth was appointed to the Appeals Court in December 2022 by Governor Charlie Baker.
A video recording of Justice Smyth's ceremonial first Appeals Court oral argument sitting is available here.