Richard W. Rodriguez
William Knight was elected judge of Criminal District Court No. 2 in November, jumping from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office to the bench. He was sworn in on New Year’s Day.
Knight, board certified in criminal law, had served in the DA’s Intimate Partner Violence Unit and Special Victims Unit. He previously worked as a staff attorney at the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Knight is homegrown, a graduate of All Saints’ before going SMU and later St. Mary’s School of Law.
In a courtroom years before, a man issued a threat against a lawyer's family, an incident that left a profound and lasting impression on the lawyer's young son — William Knight — shaping the path he would follow.
“I asked my dad what happened with the situation, and he explained it by saying, ‘The judge kept us safe,’” Knight says. “Ever since then I have wanted to be a judge to help keep people safe.”
Favorite quote: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston Churchill