Guy Hamilton-Smith - Civil Rights and Criminal Defense Attorney

Guy Hamilton-Smith shares his powerful journey from jail and the Kentucky registry to becoming a practicing lawyer in Washington, D.C., and a leading advocate for people forced to register. In this keynote for NARSOL, he explores how community, church, and unwavering support helped him move beyond shame, labels, and a denied bar application to eventually gain admission to the D.C. bar. Guy connects his personal story to big-picture themes: the First Amendment, Packingham v. North Carolina, social media bans, and the dangers of registries, civil commitment, and felony disenfranchisement that deny redemption and actually undermine public safety. He closes by challenging advocates to defend free speech, build coalitions, and insist on true second chances for people with sex offense convictions. Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith is a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, advocate, and scholar whose work has been cited in federal appellate courts. His own experiences with the legal system inspired him to go to law school at the University of Kentucky. He spent several years thereafter working in state and federal criminal defense offices and launched a successful federal civil rights lawsuit challenging Kentucky laws related to people on the registry, leading to his role as the inaugural legal fellow for the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Guy is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Law and Society Association’s division on Punishment and Society, and JustLeadershipUSA’s Impact Council. He himself was a graduate of the JustLeadershipUSA’s 2019 cohort. He resides in Kentucky with his wife Stefanie, their two dogs, and their two cats. You can connect with him on the site formerly known as Twitter (@g_padraic) or via his website, https://guyhamiltonsmith.com. (c) 2025 National Assoc. for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) ======================================================================== Related Links NARSOL Website: https://narsol.org/ Lives on the Registry: https://lives.narsol.org/ NARSOL Conferences: https://conference.narsol.org/ Volunteer with NARSOL: https://narsol.org/volunteer/ Donate to NARSOL: https://narsol.org/support-narsol/ ============================================================== More Information about NARSOL 🌐: https://www.narsol.org/ ❎: https://x.com/nationalrsol FB:   / narsol.org   📧: [email protected]