Jason Darnall - County Attorney

Marshall County Attorney Jason F. Darnall has lived in Marshall County his entire life except for those years spent in college and law school.  He graduated with honors from Marshall County High School in 1995, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1999, and graduated, magna cum laude, from Chase College of Law in 2003.  During law school, Jason served as an editor on the Northern Kentucky Law Review, published two scholarly articles, and finished ranked sixth in his class.

             After law school, Jason began his legal career clerking for Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Rick A. Johnson, where he assisted in drafting over 150 appellate court decisions.  In 2004, Jason was appointed assistant county attorney and also started a civil law practice.  During his career, he has tried well over 75 cases to verdict, ranging from DUI, drug possession, assault, violations of domestic violence orders, terroristic threatening, boundary line disputes, timber disputes, breach of contract, and faulty construction.  In November 2018, Jason was elected Marshall County Attorney and is believed to be the first person in Kentucky history to be elected county attorney as an Independent candidate.  

  As prosecutor, Jason has been a top performer in DUI cases with an 88% conviction rate, has collected over two million dollars in restitution for crime victims in the last 10 years, and has administered a child support collection office which operates in the top 15% of Kentucky counties in terms of efficiency.  He also has many years of experience representing local government, which includes advisor to the Marshall County Fiscal Court since 2004, Hardin City Attorney since 2007, counsel for the Marshall County Health Department since 2004, and counsel for Calloway County Health Department from 2016-2018.  In other professional endeavors, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky in 2017 to serve as chair of the Continuing Legal Commission, serves as treasurer and trustee of the Marshall County Law Library, and serves as treasurer of the Marshall County Bar Association. 

             Jason is very active in the community.  He has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow as member of the Marshall County Rotary Club, where he serves on the scholarship committee, participates annually in the Toys For Kids program, and volunteers as a radio auctioneer during their Spring fundraiser.  He also supports the Marshall County Animal Shelter, the H.O.P.E. Clinic, the Methodist Church annual Thanksgiving Basket food drives, and other local charities.  He is a former board member for the Chamber of Commerce, and is a current board member of the Marshall County High School Athletic Association and the Marshall County Exceptional Center, and also serves on the Benton Elementary School S.B.D.M.  

             Jason is the only son of Carl and Janet Darnall, both retired educators.  He is married to the former Jennifer Wood, who teaches English and French at Marshall County High School and is a co-owner of Noteworthy Music Studio. Jenny has been director of the Marshall County United Methodist youth since 2001.  In his spare time, Jason is known for his various running exploits, having completed the Boston Marathon three times, and being the first person from Kentucky to complete all six World Marathon Majors and to have run a marathon on all seven continents.  Jason and Jenny love helping to raise their two nephews, Kyler and Maxx, and taking care of their numerous fur babies, Jack and Ralph (rescue dogs), Ava, Vincent, and Andie (rescue cats), and the king of the castle, Pharoah, a miniature Aussie-doodle. 

Jacob Ford - Assistant County Attorney

Jacob is a lifelong Marshall Countian. He graduated with honors from Marshall County High School in 2002. He earned his bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Kentucky in 2007, after which time he moved back home and worked as a loan officer and commercial banker in a local community bank, where he financed homes and commercial projects for families and small businesses. He earned his law degree from the University of Louisville in 2013, where he received the book award for highest grade in Constitutional Law, and was a member of the Moot Court Board and the Journal of Law and Education.

In private practice, Jacob handled a variety of cases as is typical for a small-town lawyer, but primarily focused on real estate, wills and estates, landlord/tenant law, and general litigation. In 2014, Jacob was sworn in as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the 42nd Judicial Circuit of Kentucky, where he initially worked in a part-time capacity while maintaining his private practice, until going full-time in 2016. In that capacity, Jacob has prosecuted every degree of criminal offense in Kentucky, from petty theft to home invasions, sexual offenses, drug trafficking, and murder. In 2019 he joined the Marshall County Attorney’s Office, where he not only continues to serve as a criminal prosecutor, but also handles all juvenile cases, guardianships and conservatorships, as well as pursuing delinquent child support offenders and representing the Commonwealth in Dependency, Neglect, and Abuse (DNA) cases of children. 

Outside of work, Jacob is committed to serving his community in various roles, including little league softball and soccer coach. He is a member of the Benton Lions Club, Benton Country Club board of directors, and has served on the City of Benton’s Strategic Planning Committee. He is also the Chairman for the City of Benton Ethics Board. 

Jacob is married to the former Lauren Edwards of Fairdealing, Kentucky, who works as a pharmacist at Benton Walmart. He and Lauren have two daughters, Leila and Annadale, and they attend First Baptist Church in Benton, Kentucky, where Jacob serves as a deacon and member of the finance committee, as well as middle school boys Sunday School teacher.