He's been deciding felony cases as a judge since Governor Rick Perry appointed him at just 33 years old.
Ben Smith has served as judge of the 380th District Court in Collin County since his 2012 appointment by Governor Rick Perry, and has been re-elected since. Before taking the bench, he was chief felony prosecutor in the Collin County District Attorney's office and an assistant district attorney in Kaufman County. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Boston University and is running for the 5th Court of Appeals, Place 6 in 2026.
Judges aren't allowed to take sides on these values — it's against judicial ethics rules. The best clue to how a judge thinks is the party they run with.