Davis R. Ruark (born 1955 in

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

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

) 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 ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. 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 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, from 1974-1982.

Career

Ruark was initially appointed State's Attorney for

Wicomico County Wicomico County () is 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 River, whic ...

in February, 1987. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, 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, an Olympic gold medalist. Ruark was sworn in as a

Special Counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exist ...

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 for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

. Ruark pleaded guilty to

and received one year unsupervised probation, 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