FEATURED COURTROOM WINNERS: Defense Attorney Adam Capetillo, Public Defender Ben Friedman, Defense Attorney Brennen Dunn, Defense Attorney Burt Springer, Defense Attorney Chris Downey, Defense Attorney Danny Easterling, Defense Attorney Edward Okwueze, Public Defender Erik Locascio, Defense Attorney Gilbert Villarreal, Defense Attorney Hattie Shannon, Public Defender Jane Vara, Defense Attorney Jerome Godinich, Defense Attorney Joe Wells, Defense Attorney Juan Aguirre, Defense Attorney Lori Botello Christenson, Defense Attorney Maritza Antu, Defense Attorney Noel Bailey, Defense Attorney Omar Saman, Defense Attorney Paula Goodhart, Defense Attorney Reed Brooks, Public Defender Sara Smitherman, Defense Attorney Shahin Zamir, Defense Attorney Vik Vij
No Verdicts – Season On Hold (March 16th – August 31st)
Current Plan: Trial jurors will be congregated at NRG Arena on or near September 1, 2020 and jury selection will take place at NRG. Parking will be free for all participants (lawyers, jurors, clerks). Once the jury is selected the trial itself will be held the next working day at the criminal courthouse. Criminal jury trials will take precedence over civil jury trials. They will have pre-screening at the NRG door and masks will be mandatory to enter. (Judges have discretion on the masks once jurors are within their voir dire space.) These plans are tentative depending on spike of COVID cases. Also, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association has reservations about the above process since they were excluded from any and all input.
The following cases are felony and misdemeanor trial setting dismissals derived from the Harris County District Clerk’s website – online services > public data sets > crimdisposdaily. (2 work days later) I examine each dismissal form before posting, post only those defendants who are free of charges (exceptions apply) and for which I have an attorney photo. ric court dismissals are posted only if legal issues were cited.
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney John Floyd for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1558520 out of the 263rd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Injury to a Child
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Brennen Dunn for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1654008 out of the 180th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Reed Brooks for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1604727 out of the 177th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Assault on a Peace Officer
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Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Noel Bailey for earning felony dismissals for your client in Cause Numbers 1668399 – 1668400 out of the 182nd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Maritza Antu for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1652106 out of the Reintegration Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Juan Aguirre for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1591839 out of the 180th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Aggravated Assault Family Member
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Gilbert Villarreal for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1670170 out of the 228th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Aggravated Robbery
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Vik Vij for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1639876 out of the 228th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Evading Arrest with a Vehicle
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Vik Vij for earning felony dismissals for your client in Cause Numbers 1669705 – 1669706 out of the 178th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Show Me The Justice congratulates Public Defender Jane Vara for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1615852 out of the 337th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance
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Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Burt Springer for earning felony dismissals for your client in Cause Numbers 1608696 – 1608698 out of the 176th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Tampering with Evidence
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Hattie Shannon for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1585237 out of the 351st Criminal District Court for the offense of
Aggravated Robbery
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Edward Okwueze for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1626468 out of the 263rd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Assault Family Member
Show Me The Justice congratulates Public Defender Erik Locascio for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1657937 out of the 182nd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Aggravated Assault
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Paula Goodhart for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1627811 out of the 178th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Jerome Godinich for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1616876 out of the 263rd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Show Me The Justice congratulates Public Defender Ben Friedman for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1628572 out of the 178th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Forgery
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Danny Easterling for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1680571 out of the 338th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Continuous Violence Against a Family Member
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Chris Downey for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1623127 out of the 338th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Evading Arrest with a Vehicle
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Adam Capetillo for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1652997 out of the 228th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Lori Botello Christenson for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1668179 out of the 180th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Evading Arrest with a prior Evading Arrest Conviction
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Lori Botello Christenson for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1651194 out of the 180th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Retaliation
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Lori Botello Christenson for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1644446 out of the 180th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Fraudulent Use of IDs
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Shahin Zamir for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1652849 out of the 228th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Evading Arrest with a Vehicle
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Joe Wells for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1651834 out of the 176th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Aggravated Robbery
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Show Me The Justice congratulates Public Defender Sara Smitherman for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1623080 out of the 337th Criminal District Court for the offense of
Tampering with a Government Record
Show Me The Justice congratulates Defense Attorney Omar Saman for earning a felony dismissal for your client in Cause Number 1667471 out of the 182nd Criminal District Court for the offense of
Burglary of a Habitation
Note: The following spreadsheets, standings, charts, graphs and compilations are NOT 100% accurate and should not be relied upon as authoritative information.
*Special Felonies – Excludes certain felony dismissals – see “The Making of this Blog – What Goes into It” for the exceptions
ALL VERDICTS by ATTORNEY last name – (OVER 1,800 TRIAL VERDICTS) from February 1, 2017 – July 30, 2020 from the Harris County Criminal Courthouse (for personal use ONLY) – some verdicts are listed more than once because each co-counsel gets their own listing
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Number of trials performed by each judge – January 1, 2020 – July 30, 2020 (Includes verdicts, in-trial pleas, in-trial dismissals and hung juries. Trial = Jury Selected – note: sometimes same case number for 2 judges because one judge picks the jury and another judge tries the case) Source: My personal observations of trials in the courthouse and use of the District Clerk’s website online services
FINAL JUDGE TRIAL STATISTICS – 2019 – 2018
The number of FAVORABLE VERDICTS by the Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse from January 1, 2020 through July 30, 2020 (1 verdict may have 2 or more attorneys attached as co-counsel, 2 or more favorable verdicts per defendant is 1 trial win)
FINAL TRIAL STANDINGS – 2019 – 2018
January 1, 2018 – July 28, 2020 – OVER 9,800 CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER SUCCESS STORIES
A Compilation of Not Guilty Verdicts, Mid-Trial Dismissals, Trial-Setting Dismissals and *Special Felony Dismissals (exceptions apply) from the Harris County Criminal Courthouse -For personal use ONLY
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(Source: Harris County District Clerk’s Online Services – CrimDisposMonthly spreadsheet – eliminated dismissals when convicted of another charge or case refiled. Does not include attorneys whose names do not appear as attorney of record on clerk’s spreadsheet. Attorneys above are mostly court appointed)
Former Prosecutor and Veteran Criminal Defense Attorney Murray Newman has been publishing a blog about the inner workings of the Harris County Criminal Courthouse for over 10 years. His insight and experience on the subject is among the best in Houston. I have a lot of respect for Murray and his blog inspired me to create my site – Show Me The Justice! For his personal views of Life at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse click the link below
LIFE AT THE HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER
Veteran Criminal Defense Attorney Robert Pelton has an online CLE class in lieu of his every Wednesday in person class that he conducted for years at the Harris County Courthouse.
It is held every Wednesday from 12pm-1pm. You can earn 1 hour CLE by attending. No registration is required. The course number is given at the end of the class. You will have to download the GoToMeeting App on your computer or phone.
The class is FREE at this time (average 1-hour Texas State Bar CLE class is $50), but a donation for his time, effort and expense is welcome to: Robert Pelton 4001 N. Shepherd Dr. Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77018. If you want to get on Robert’s mass email list with Wednesday seminar updates mail to rpeltonlawyer1@aol.com and tell him Show Me The Justice sent you.
You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/337340109
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3121
Access Code: 337-340-109
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/293655421
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GREAT CHANNEL TO WATCH LIVE COURT PROCEEDINGS AROUND TEXAS! CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PROCEEDINGS. Click on the YouTube photo and learn – look for the LIVE NOW indicators where it says WATCH NOW! txcourts.gov
ALL CRIMINAL COURTS ARE NOW BACK AT THE CJC
Here is the list of floors and docket times
Are you interested in moving some criminal cases? Go to a client’s file and login the the DA Defense Portal. On the page you can find the DA in charge of the case AND you can find the CURRENT roster of DAs in their current courts. Let’s start moving some cases!!
Catch all the newest updates, trial tips, important defense information, office tidbits and much more in the Harris County Public Defenders newsletter headed by Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin.
