Davis R. Ruark

Davis R. Ruark (born 1955 in Salisbury, Maryland, U.S.) is an American lawyer. From February, 1987 to January, 2011 Ruark served as the State’s Attorney for Wicomico County, Maryland. Currently, he serves as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the 12th and 13th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina. Prior to the appointment in North Carolina, Ruark served as Deputy District Attorney in the Twelfth District Attorney’s Office in New Mexico. He also served as a Deputy District Attorney in New Mexico’s 3rd District, supervising all of the felony attorneys. Before starting in the 3rd District, Ruark served as a Chief Deputy District Attorney in the Eddy County/Carlsbad District Attorney's Office in the 5th Judicial District of New Mexico.^[1] Ruark is a member of the Maryland, North Carolina and New Mexico State Bars. He is also a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ruark's father, Elmer F. Ruark served as Mayor of Salisbury, Maryland, from 1974-1982.

Career

Ruark was initially appointed State's Attorney for Wicomico County in February, 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has subsequently been elected on five separate occasions, without opposition. Ruark was defeated for re-election in a very low turnout Democratic primary election in September, 2010. Matt Maciarello, a Republican, then won the general election to become the State's Attorney. Ruark remained in office until January 3, 2011.

As State's Attorney, Ruark personally prosecuted some high-profile cases, including death penalty cases. One example of a high-profile case, that he prosecuted, is the drunk driving case involving Michael Phelps,^[2] an Olympic gold medalist.

Ruark was sworn in as a Special Counsel for the State of Maryland and Special Assistant State's Attorney on January 3, 2011.^[3] Ruark assisted with the prosecution of Thomas Leggs, Jr., the person found guilty of murdering eleven-year-old Sarah Foxwell over Christmas 2009.^[4]

On March 12, 2012 Ruark was sworn in as a Senior Assistant District Attorney/Senior Trial Attorney in the 5th Judicial District in New Mexico.^[5] He then served as a Deputy and then Chief Deputy District Attorney in the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Following his career there, Ruark became a Deputy District Attorney in the 3rd Judicial District Attorney's Office and then as a Deputy District Attorney in the 12th DA's Office. Following his move to North Carolina, Ruark was appointed an Assistant District Attorney in the 12th Prosecutorial District, a role he continues to fill today.

Arrest

In 2008, Ruark was arrested in Ocean City, MD for driving under the influence.^[6] Ruark pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and received one year unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, and 12 points on his driver's license.

References

1. Margot Cabrera (February 20, 2012). . Lea County District Attorney's Office. Archived from the original on 2014-04-22.
2. "Olympic Champ Sentenced For DUI". CBS News. January 25, 2012.
3. Sharahn D. Boykin. "Day 1 busy for Wicomico prosecutor". The Daily Times.^{[dead link]} Alt URL
4. Lynette Gilchrist (January 3, 2011). . WMDT News. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
5. "Former Wicomico state's attorney accepts post in New Mexico". The Daily Times.^{[dead link]} Alt URL
6. Kye Parsons and Elizabeth Harrington (February 26, 2008). . WBOC-TV. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22.