The Democratic primary for the 298th state District Court pits a longtime attorney with deep community roots against a relative newcomer to the Dallas legal scene.
Both Tracie Shelby Williams, 53, and Ashley Smith, 34, are qualified to take over the civil court bench being vacated by Emily Tobolowsky. But despite her shorter résumé, Smith edges out Williams, a third-time candidate.
After graduating with her law degree from Texas Tech University, Smith worked at three Houston-area law firms representing both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury, wrongful deaths and other civil matters. She joined the Dallas firm Fee, Smith & Sharp LLP in 2019 and was made partner in 2023. She has been named a rising star by Super Lawyers the last three years.
In an interview, Smith displayed a broad understanding of the Dallas County civil courts in general and the 298th in particular. If elected, she said she’d work to establish more uniformity among court functions, from docket management to mandated state reporting requirements. She laid out a specific approach for tackling complaints regarding delays in issuing orders in the 298th.
Opinion
Williams makes a good case in pointing out a longer and more varied law career than her opponent. In private practice, she has clients in several areas, including probate and real estate law, in both state and federal courts.
She also has an impressive academic résumé; she earned her law degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law and her MBA from Dartmouth University.
In an interview, Williams emphasized her work many years ago representing disadvantaged clients caught up in a foreclosure scheme. She chose to run for judge, she said, because “the community I helped, I didn’t believe they were having a voice in civil district court.” Though her work is laudable, we question whether the bench is the right place for advocacy.
Williams ran for the 162nd District Court in 2024 and the 192nd District Court in 2022, but lost in both Democratic primaries.
This editorial is part of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s slate of recommendations for the 2026 primary. Find the full project here.
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