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.<\/p>\n
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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9, Smith edges out Williams, a third-time candidate.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n
Opinion<\/p>\n