Davis R. Ruark (born 1955 in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 United States census ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

) is an American lawyer. From February, 1987 to January, 2011 Ruark served as the State’s Attorney for Wicomico County, Maryland.

Career

Currently, Ruark serves as an Assistant District Attorney in the 29th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina, having previously served as a Special District Attorney in the 12th and 13th Districts in 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 New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Personal

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 In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, from 1974-1982.

Career

Ruark was initially appointed State's Attorney for

Wicomico County Wicomico County ( ) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Maryland, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,588. The county seat is Salisbury. The county was named for the Wicomico ...

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 Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

, 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. Ruark assisted with the prosecution of Thomas Leggs, Jr., the person found guilty of murdering eleven-year-old Sarah Foxwell over Christmas 2009. 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. 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 and 13th Prosecutorial Districts, a role he continues to fill today. Ruark currently lives in the Raleigh, North Carolina metropolitan region.

Arrest

In 2008, Ruark was arrested in

Ocean City, MD Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort city in Worcester County, Maryland, along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hos ...

for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

. Ruark pleaded guilty to

and received one year unsupervised

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

, a $500 fine, and 12 points on his driver's license.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruark, Davis Wake Forest University alumni People from Salisbury, Maryland Maryland lawyers 1955 births Living people University of Baltimore School of Law alumni