Davis R. Ruark

Davis R. Ruark (born 1955 in Salisbury, Maryland, U.S.) was the State's Attorney for Wicomico County, Maryland in the United States until January 3, 2011.

Education

Davis Ruark graduated from Wicomico Senior High School and then attended Wake Forest University where he earned a B.A. degree in history. Ruark then entered the University of Baltimore School of Law, earning a Juris Doctor degree. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1981.

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 four separate occasions, without opposition. Ruark was defeated for re-election in a very low turnout Democratic primary election in September, 2010. Matt Maciarello then defeated Seth Mitchell in 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,^[1] 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.^[2] Ruark assisted with the prosecution of Thomas Leggs, Jr., the person found guilty of murdering eleven-year old Sarah Foxwell over Christmas 2009.^[3]

Community Affiliations

Ruark serves on the Richard A. Henson Foundation Board of Trustees,^[4] having served as Chairman for two years and currently serves as Secretary of the Board. He is also on the board of Healthy U of Delmarva, Inc.,^[5] an organization founded by Mitzi Perdue in order to promote healthy lifestyles on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

DUI Arrest

On Friday, February 22, 2008, at 9:40 p.m., Ruark was arrested in Ocean City, MD for driving under the influence.^[6] He was later charged with possession of a handgun while under the influence.^[7] It was Ruark's only drunken driving arrest, and court records do not show any other violations of the law^{[citation needed]}. As a result, he announced he would take a 30 to 40 day leave of absence and not personally prosecute any traffic, alcohol, or substance abuse cases.

In court, Ruark plead guilty to driving under the influence and received one year unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, and 12 points on his driver's license. The charge of handgun possession while under the influence was dropped.^[8]

Ruark returned to work on a full-time basis in March 2008.

References

1. ^ CBS News Story Olympic Champ Sentenced For DUI
2. ^ The Daily Times Day 1 busy for Wicomico prosecutor
3. ^ WMDT News New Leadership In Wicomico County
4. ^ Richard Henson Foundation Board of Trustees List
5. ^ Healthy U of Delmarva, Inc. 2009 IRS Form 990
6. ^ Wicomico State's Attorney Takes Leave of Absence following DUI
7. ^ The Daily Times article entitled "Gun imperils Ruark's job"
8. ^ Ruark gets fine, points

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Name	Ruark, Davis
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Date of birth	1955
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