Current Position
Judge Dean Rucker is the Senior Judge over the 318th Family District Court of Midland County.
He also serves as the Presiding Judge of the Seventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas.

Awards & Recognitions
Judge Rucker is board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is the 2014 recipient of the Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award given by the Texas Bar Foundation. In 2006, he was awarded the Chair’s Award of Excellence by the Texas Center for the Judiciary.

Judge Rucker was also honored as the 2005 Jurist of the Year by the Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In 1997, Texas CASA recognized Judge Rucker as the Clayton E. Evans Judge of the Year.

Memberships
Judge Rucker is Past Chair of the Judicial Section, State Bar of Texas and the Texas Center for the Judiciary. He was a charter Commissioner on the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families and now as one its Jurists in Residence. Judge Rucker is Past Chair of the Texas Children’s Justice Act Task Force.

He is a member of the Family Law Section, and serves on the Formbook Committee and the Legislative Committee. He served as the Judicial Advisor to the Family Law Council for many years. He is a director of the Family Law Foundation. He is also a member of the State Bar Pattern Jury Charge-Family/Probate Committee. He is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and the Midland County Bar Association.

Education & Speaking Opportunities
Judge Rucker has spoken at conferences for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, the
National Council of Family and Juvenile Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the State Bar of Texas,
and the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration
from Trinity University and a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law.