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Smith on the job as 380th District Court judge
Submitted Photo - Judge Mark Rusch, left, of the 401st District Court, recently administered Ben Smith the oath of office for his new seat as 380th District Court judge.
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
Less than two weeks after winning the runoff election for the 380th District Court judge seat, Ben Smith of McKinney was on the job Monday hearing cases.
Smith defeated Terri Green in the July 31 runoff, and on Aug. 9 was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to begin duties immediately since he faces no Democratic opponent in the November general election.
Smith was administered the oath of office Aug. 10, and began hearing cases Monday.
His appointment is for the current unexpired term of Suzanne Wooten, who was removed from office in November after she was found guilty of bribery and related charges.
After completing the unexpired term, Smith will begin in January the four-year term for which he was elected.
He will attend a judicial training school in December, after already serving on the bench for almost four months. He feels his experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney provides the background he needs to begin serving before his training.
Rituals for Smith's new position are still yet to come. A formal ceremony, or investiture, is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, in the central jury room of the Collin County Courthouse.
Smith, who most recently has been an attorney in private practice, is a former chief felony prosecutor for the Collin County District Attorney's office. Prior to that, he was an assistant district attorney in Kaufman County. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas District and County Attorney's Association and a former member of the Collin County Young Lawyers Association.
He has a bachelor's degree from Boston University and a law degree from Boston University School of Law.
Smith is the third recently-elected judge in Collin County to be appointed to assume duties early after being elected to terms that begin in January. Perry appointed Angela Tucker to begin duties soon after she defeated Bob Dry III for the 199th District Court judge post in the May 29 Republican primary.
Barnett Walker was appointed last week by the Collin County Commissioners Court to assume duties early as the new judge for County Court at Law No. 2.
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