Judge Daugherity was appointed a circuit judge in the 13th Judicial Circuit in March 2001. He was elected to the seat in November of 2002. Prior to his appointment he was in the general practice of law in Streator and Ottawa for 27 years. He served as presiding judge of the civil division since Jan. 2010. As presiding judge, he drafted the local circuit court rules for mortgage foreclosure mediation in response to the mortgage crisis of 2008 and currently in effect. He also helped craft the local rules pertaining to cameras in the courtroom. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Appellate Court in Dec. of 2020.

He served on the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Conference Committee on Complex Litigation and chaired the committee from 2008-2010. He has been an alternate member of the Illinois Courts Commission. Presently, he is a topic editor for the Benchbook on Mortgage Foreclosure and is a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence.

He is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and DePaul College of Law.

He has been an active member of the community serving as trustee for his local parish; as a board member of the YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, Visiting Nurse Association and local bank board.

He is married to Caroline. They have two children who are both lawyers.