Joseph A. Martinez

Dear TCDLA Membership,

I have decided after 16 unforgettable outstanding years it is time for me to leave TCDLA as your executive director and begin the next phase in my life and enjoy retirement!

I express my sincere gratitude to David Moore, president, for his exceptional leadership over the last few years and more especially in this most recent eight months. Thanks to David, TCDLA is in the unique position of being one of the best, if not the best, state association for criminal defense lawyers in the nation.

I want to thank all of the boards of directors and committee chairs I have served over the years for their contributions to TCDLA, as well as for being the best examples I have ever seen of giving to the cause.

I want to thank the TCDLA past presidents for their wise and sage advice throughout the years. I know they were always there for more than just a word of advice and friendship. Special thanks to our first president, the Honorable Frank Maloney. He, in particular, provided special support to me.

I recognize the individual members across the state who would talk to me at our CLE— with whom I have lasting relationships. I have incredibly fond memories of each encounter. I thank the local criminal defense bars and their leadership for their support of TCDLA.

I want to acknowledge your exceptional TCDLA staff. They are without question the finest dedicated professional staff I have ever known. Melissa Schank, your assistant executive director, has the most profound work ethic I have ever seen.

These are just a few of the unique moments I will cherish for the rest of my life. I will continue to share my experiences and memorable stories with my grandkids. Some of my best recollections:

• My first Prairie Dog seminar in Lubbock;
• My first Semaan seminar in San Antonio;
• My first and all the subsequent 15 Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Courses;
• All of the CLE I attended;
• All of the TCDLA and TCDLEI board meetings I attended;
• All of the Tim Evans Texas Criminal Trial Colleges in Huntsville.

I am grateful to the TCDLA Board of 2001–2002 for offering me the job of a lifetime. I express gratitude to our members for giving me the time of my life all these years. Again, I thank the local criminal defense bars and their leadership for their support of TCDLA. Together over the years, everyone has made TCDLA a successful organization.

I love you all. One last time, good verdicts to all of you.

As the holiday season approaches, we give thanks to our TCDLA members for their support over the past year. We know we are a stronger association because of you. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.

Special thanks to our course directors, Gary Trichter (Bandera), Bobby Barrera (San Antonio), and Michael Gross (San Antonio), for the 13th Annual DWI seminar held at the historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio. Thanks to their efforts we had 109 attendees.

Special thanks to our course director, Rick Wardroup (Lubbock), for the Capital Litigation and Mental Health seminar held in Houston in November. Thanks to their efforts we had 119 attendees.

TCDLA/CDLP has held Legislative Update CLE—Part I (DVD) or Part II—with Allen Place and/or Shea Place. We have had or will have updates in the following cities. We thank the respective Course Directors.

We invite you to attend the following board meetings to be held in Austin at the Wyndham Hotel: 8:00 am, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Educational Institute, 10:30 am, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

There is a significant amount of CLE being offered by other law groups. We thank you for attending TCDLA CLE. Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the TCDLA Home Office (512-478-2514) for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in our area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar and need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

The following motions were voted on by the TCDLA Board at the September 9, 2016, Board meeting held in Fort Worth.

MOTION: Minutes, June 23, 2017
Motion to adopt the minutes from the TCDLA Annual Board Meeting in San Antonio on June 23, 2017, made by David Botsford, seconded by Michael Gross—motion carries.

MOTION: FY18 TCDLA Budget
Motion to approve the FY18 TCDLA Budget made by Russell Gunter, seconded by Roberto Balli—motion carries.

MOTION: Adjourn
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 1:28 pm made by Frank Sellers, seconded by Kristin Brown—motion carries.

Special thanks to Heather Barbieri (Plano), Tony Vitz (McKinney), Greg Westfall (Fort Worth), and John Ackerman (Sunrise Beach), our course directors for our four-day event, the 7th Annual Round Top Advanced Skills Training—Discovering the Story. Thanks to them and our faculty we had 51 attendees.

Special thanks to John Gilmore and Philip Goff, our course directors for the Unleashing Your Inner Beast: Defending Those Accused CLE held in Corpus Christi in October. Thanks to everyone’s help we 71 attendees.

A reminder: If you are interested in serving on the TCDLA board, the deadline to submit your application is November 1, 2017. Please go to our website for more information.

The board has set as a goal to reach 3,500 members by the end August 2018. Currently TCDLA has 3,241 dues-paying members. We ask your help in recruiting new members and members who have lapsed. Please go to the website for membership benefits and a membership application form.

Thanks to Rick Wardroup and all of our members who are updating and editing, we will be releasing the TCDLA publications in the coming months. Please check our website or look for the emails we will be sending to announce which publications are being released. Please support TCDLA by purchasing our publications, and help promote them to other lawyers.

David Moore, President (Longview), started up the Hurricane Harvey Relief committee with Danny Easterling (Houston) as chair. The committee has come up with numerous ideas how to support our brother and sisters impacted by Hurricane Harvey. We ask you to consider making a donation.

Please join us in San Antonio at the historic Menger Hotel for the 13th Annual Stuart Kinard Advanced DWI CLE November 2–3, 2017. Come hear the latest updates from the finest DWI practitioners in the state. Please go to our website for the two-day agenda.

There is a significant amount of CLE being offered by other law groups. We thank you for attending TCDLA CLE.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office (512-478-2514) for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (Assistant Executive Director, 512-478-2514) at the Home Office. The Criminal Defense Lawyers CDLP has funds to provide a speaker and pay up to $500 for lunch costs.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

TCDLA under David Moore’s leadership has initiated the Hurricane Harvey Lawyers Relief Fund Committee, chaired by Danny Easterling (Houston) with other members on from the affected area. Donations are being accepted and will be used to alleviate some of the burdens that this historic storm has placed on our fellow criminal law practitioners. Please consider making a contribution. Please go to our website for more information or go directly to the donation page (https://www.tcdla.com/harvey).

Please help us promote TCDLA membership, which means getting lapsed members to rejoin as well as recruiting lawyers to join. Please go to our website for the new membership form. Please also help us promote our future TCDLA CLE. The annual schedule of all future TCDLA CLE can be found on the website.

TCDLA received notice from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals of the following grant awards for fiscal year 2015 (September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018).

TCDLA through our Criminal Defense Lawyers Project (CDLP) will maximize these grants and conduct 109-plus seminars in the coming year: 34 will be held in cities across Texas, 75 will be online on our TCDLA website. Working together with our public defender offices and our local criminal defense bars, we project we will train 2,300 lawyers, students, and staff in fiscal year FY 2018.

We thank the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for having the trust and confidence in TCDLA to provide quality continuing legal education to criminal defense lawyers, students, and staff across Texas. We thank, in particular, Judge Barbara Hervey, who is judicial oversight for the entire $12,624,865 Court Personnel Grant.

We thank Don Flannery, president of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (SACDLA), for allowing TCDLA/CDLP to co-sponsor their Against All Odds CLE held in San Antonio in August. Thanks to their efforts we had 41 attendees.

We thank our course directors, Grant Scheiner (Houston) and Danny Easterling (Houston), for the Top Gun CLE held in Houston in August. These two dedicated TCDLA members have been putting on Top Gun for last 15 years. They and the speakers they have chosen have trained over 2,600 lawyers over those 15 years. This year we had 157 attendees.

We thank Sarah Roland (Denton) and John Hunter Smith (Sherman), course directors for the Successfully Defending Child Physical Abuse & Child Death Cases seminar held in Fort Worth in September. Thanks to them and the speakers they selected we had 94 attendees.

TCDLA will have Shea Place in addition to Allen Place representing TCDLA in the off Legislative year. She will attend any committee hearings, commission hearings, and other appropriate state agency hearings held 2017–2018.

The TCDLA Annual report was presented to the TCDLA Board on Saturday, September 16, in Fort Worth.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office (512-507-4244) for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (512-478-2514) at the Home Office. CDLP has funds to provide a speaker and pay up to $500 for lunch costs.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key Lubbock, , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

Please join me in thanking Robb Fickman (Houston) and Chuck Lanehart (Lubbock), our TCDLA 2017 Readings statewide project coordinators. Thanks to their outstanding efforts this year, there were Readings of the Declaration of Independence in over 120 counties across Texas. In addition, the 11 members of “F Troop,” the local coordinators, contributed to the overall success of the project. Robb brought the project to TCDLA from its inception in Houston, and we thank him for having the vision and foresight to do so.

This was my fifth year participating in the readings at the Blackwell Thurman Courthouse in Austin. I firmly believe this is one of the most honored privileges I have has as Executive Director of TCDLA. To stand in front of the public before the halls of justice and speak with a loud voice the words of freedom authored by our founding fathers is beyond description. I strongly recommend you plan on attending and participating in the 2018 Readings Project in your city.

The Texas Special Session is over. TCDLA was represented by Allen and Shea Place.

We want to thank our course directors, Heather Barbieri and John Hunter Smith, for our CDLP Training the Trainers CLE on South Padre Island in July. We require any potential speakers for our CDLP and TCDLA CLE seminars to attend this training. We had 54 attendees.

We want to thank our course directors, Heather Barbieri, Bobby Lerma, John Hunter Smithm and Sheldon Weisfeld, for our Beating the Drum CLE held on South Padre Island in July. Thanks to them and our speakers we had 97 attendees. We also want to thank Bill Trantham (Denton) and Bobby Lerma (Brownsville), past president of TCDLA, for their cooking up the 10th Annual Beach Bar-B-Q. We had over 100 participants.

We held a board orientation for TCDLA/CDLP/TCDLEI board members at South Padre Island. We had 40 participants.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office (512-478-2514) for a list of the DVDs and CLE credit, or visit the website, at www.tcdla.com, for a listing of online CLE.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (512-478-2514) at the Home Office. CDLP has funds to provide a free legislative update for your local bar.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

David Moore (Longview) is now the 46th president of TCDLA. We look forward to a very successfully year under David’s leadership.

The 85th Texas Legislature Session is sine die until July 18, when the Special Session starts. Our legislative team will be providing summary reports to our members throughout the special session.

Our course directors for the 31st Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course will be Nicole DeBorde (Houston), Gerry Goldstein (San Antonio), John Hunter Smith (Sherman), and Mark Thiessen (Houston). Please make plans to join us June 21–23, 2018. The seminar will be held at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Special thanks to this year’s course directors, Cynthia Orr (San Antonio), Audrey Moorehead (Dallas), Robert Lerma (Brownsville), and Frank Sellers (Fort Worth), for the 30th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course held in San Antonio in June. Thanks to them and the 34 speakers we had 768 attendees.

Special thanks to course director Alex Bunin for the CDLP Public Defender Training held in San Antonio in June. Thanks to Alex and our speakers we had 78 attendees.

We have a great lineup of DWI CLE in the coming months. Please join us for these quality TCDLA seminars.

Weren’t able to attend this year’s Rusty Duncan event? You can order the DVD and get CLE credit. Please go to our website for more information and to order. Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office (512-478-2514) for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit or go to the website for online CLE.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (512-478-2514) at the Home Office. CDLP has funds to provide a speaker and pay up to $500 for lunch costs.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

We thank outgoing TCDLA President John Convery (San Antonio) for his service to the TCDLA membership over the last year. Thanks to his steadfast leadership, TCDLA is a better association. We wish him good verdicts and prosperity. David Moore (Longview) takes the helm of TCDLA as president on June 24, 2017, at the 46th Annual TCDLA Annual Meeting. We look forward to successfully managing the challenges under David’s leadership.

We thank the outgoing chair of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project (CDLP), John Hunter Smith (Sherman), for his outstanding dedication and tireless efforts over the past year. We wish him well and good verdicts. Heather Barbieri (Plano) is the new chair. CDLP oversees the grants TCDLA receives from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Clay Steadman (Kerrville) is the new co-chair.

We thank Lance Evans (Fort Worth) for his leadership as chair of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Educational Institute (TCDLEI). He will remain Chair of TCDLEI.

Congratulations to the new TCDLA Hall of Fame inductees, Betty Blackwell (Austin), Gerry Morris (Austin), and Katherine Scardino (Houston). They are exceptional lawyers who have brought honor and distinction to the legal profession. They have continually shared their knowledge and resources with lawyers across Texas.

The 85th Texas Legislative session is sine die—at least the first one. Our legislative team will be providing summary reports to our members in the coming days and throughout the summer. Special thanks to Andrea Keilen, Allen Place, David Gonzales, and Shay Place for their efforts throughout the last five months. We also thank our Legislative Committee under the direction of William Harris (Fort Worth) and Vice Chair Susan Kelley (Waco). The legislative committee included Mark Daniel (Fort Worth) and Bobby Mims (Tyler).

Special thanks to our course directors for this year’s 30th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course to be held in San Antonio in June. They are Cynthia Orr (San Antonio), Audrey Moorehead (Dallas), Robert Lerma (Brownsville), and Frank Sellers (Fort Worth).

Please make plans to join us at next year’s 31st Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course on June 21–23, 2018.

Special thanks to the members who donated items for the silent auction held during Rusty Duncan.

Special thanks to Stan Schwieger (Waco) and John Hunter Smith (Sherman), our course directors for the CDLP Beating the Drum for Justice held in Waco in April. Thanks to their efforts we had 87 attendees.

Special thanks to Abner Burnett (Edinburg), our course director for CDLP Parole Event held in Edinburg in April. Thanks to his efforts, we had 33 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Heather Barbieri (Plano) and Kelly Pace (Tyler), for the CDLP Beating the Drum for Justice held in Tyler in April. Thanks to their efforts we had 71 attendees.

Special thanks to Bobby Barrera, president of the San Antonio Bar Association (SABA), for allowing TCDLA/CDLP to co-sponsor the 54th Annual Criminal Law Institute held in San Antonio in April. This is the first organized CLE in criminal law in Texas. TCDLA is honored to be a part of this most prestigious event. The course directors were Mark Stevens, John Convery, and Robert Price, all of San Antonio.

Special thanks to the Course Planning Committee, Sarah Guidry, Zahra B. Whitfield, the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Professor Ashraf Mozayani, the TSU School of Public Affairs Forensic Science Lab, and Assistant Dean Prudence Smith of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law (all from Houston), for the Earl Carl Institute’s 4th Annual Child Welfare Forensics Conference held at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in April. CDLP/TCDLA was a co-sponsor. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we had 206 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Dustin Nimz (Wichita Falls) and John Hunter Smith (Sherman), for the CDLP Beating the Drum for Justice held in Wichita Falls in April. Thanks to their efforts we had 32 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Sorcha Landau (Houston) and Jani Maselli (Houston), for our CDLP Appellate CLE, co-sponsored with the Harris County Public Defenders Officer. Thanks to their efforts we had 124 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Deandra Grant (Dallas), Lawrence Boyd (Dallas), and Courtney Stamper (Waxahachie), for our 10th Annual DWI Defense Project held at the Gray Wolf Lodge in Grapevine in May. Thanks to their efforts we had 129 attendees.

Please join us for the fun-filled activities on South Padre Island this summer. Bring the family.

TCDLA currently has 3,106 members. It is the largest criminal defense lawyers association in the country. We ask our members to encourage other lawyers who practice criminal defense to join TCDLA.

Weren’t able to attend this year’s Rusty Duncan event? You can order the DVD and get CLE credit. Please go to our website for more information and to order.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office (512-478-2514) for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in our area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

The Texas Session is ongoing and we are well represented with our lobbying team of Allen Pace, Andrea Keilen, and David Gonzales, all under the supportive oversight of the TCDLA Legislative Committee, with Bill Harris (Fort Worth) as Chair.

Special thanks to Maureen Franco and Mary Stillinger, our course directors for our Wild Wild West Federal and State Criminal Law seminar held El Paso in April. Thanks to all we had 73 attendees. Special thanks to Jim Darnell and Joe Spencer, our course directors for the Family Violence seminar also held in El Paso in April. Thanks to everyone’s help we had 59 attendees. The TCDLA board had their quarterly board meeting in El Paso, we believe the first TCDLA board meeting held in El Paso. The board hopes to return very soon. The following motions were passed at the board meeting:

MOTION: Minutes—December 3, 2016
Motion to adopt the minutes from the TCDLA Board Meeting on December 3, 2016, in Dallas, made by Michael Gross, seconded by Laurie Key—motion carries.

MOTION: Approve 12/28/16 Board Electronic Vote for Amicus Brief—Case of Matthew Clendennen: 8–0 made by David Ryan, seconded by Sarah Roland—motion carries.

MOTION: Approve 1/3/17 Board Electronic Vote for Amicus Briefs ($400)—1) Waldrip/Tharp, 2) Ramirez/Tamayo made by David Ryan, seconded by Jim Darnell—motion carries.

MOTION: TCDLA opposes the expansion of Pretrial Detention expansion in Texas, made by David Moore, seconded by Adam Kobs—motion carries.

MOTION to approve Personnel Manual changes:
Comp Time add: Once submission of resignation is submitted, from that day forward the use of comp time is not available.
Holiday Time add: Employees are not paid for unused holiday time if you leave or upon termination of employment.
Sick Leave add: Employees are not paid for unused sick time if you leave or upon termination of employment. Once submission of resignation is submitted from that day forward the use of sick time will require a doctor’s note. Motion made by Mark Snodgrass, seconded by David Moore—motion carries.

MOTION: Money transfer
Motion to transfer $65,000 from reserves into TCDLA Operating account as Executive and Budget Committee have approved. Motion made by John Hunter Smith, seconded by Rusty Gunter—motion carries.

John Convery appointed Lydia Clay-Jackson (Conroe) and Tim Evans (Fort Worth) as Deans Emeritus of the Tim Evans 41st Annual Texas Criminal Trial College held in Huntsville in March. John also appointed the new Deans, Kerri Anderson Donica (Corsicana), Dean of Students, and Lance Evans (Fort Worth), Dean of the Faculty. We had 45 faculty from all around Texas. This year we had 77 lawyers being trained in trial skills. It was a very successful college. We also thank Philip Lyons, Dean of Sam Houston State University, for his support of the college and Ms. Sabrina Rowley, administrative assistant who provides support throughout the college.

A very special thanks to James Nesci, Dean of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), for supporting TCDLA in a joint co-sponsorship of their 24th Annual Mastering Scientific Evidence (MSE) seminar held in New Orleans in March. Special thanks to Mimi Coffey (Fort Worth), Doug Murphy (Houston), Troy McKinney (Houston), and Gary Trichter (Bandera), course directors for the seminar. This is the 10th year of TCDLA co-sponsoring this seminar with NCDD.

If it is April, it is time to register for the 30th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course to be held June 22–24, 2017, in San Antonio at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Please join us for four days of outstanding training, camaraderie, and beautiful San Antonio. Please go to our website for more information.

TCDLA Board of Directors invites you to attend the 46th Annual TCDLA Members Meeting on Saturday, June 24, 2017, 15 minutes after adjournment of the 30th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course. This should be approximately at 11:30 am in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

Special thanks to Rick Wardroup, course director for our Capital Defense CLE held in Dallas in February. Thanks to his help and our speakers we had 39 attendees.

Special thanks to the Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Houston) and the Earl Carl Institute (Houston) for allowing us to co-sponsor the 6th Annual Hon. Craig Washington and Senator Rodney Ellis Excellence in Indigent Defense Series CLE held at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in February. Thanks to everyone’s help and assistance we had 113 attendees.

Special thanks to Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) for allowing TCDLA/CDLP to co-sponsor their 2nd Annual Winning Women CLE held in Houston in March. Thanks to everyone’s efforts we had 107 attendees.

TCDLA was started in July 1971. Our goal then and now remains constant:

To protect and ensure by rule of law those individual rights guaranteed by the Texas and Federal Constitutions in criminal cases;

To resist the constant efforts which are now being made to curtail such rights;

To encourage cooperation between lawyers engaged in the furtherance of such objectives through educational programs and other assistance;

And through such cooperation, education and assistance to promote justice and the common good.

To these ends our 3,200+ members support their TCDLA. We encourage our members to promote TCDLA and its goals to those lawyers who are not members. Get them to join TCDLA.

Please join us for the 30th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course to be held in San Antonio at the Hyatt Regency Hotel June 22–24, 2017. There will be loads of activities as we celebrate 30 years of the finest CLE in the country. Please go to our website for more information.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (512-478-5214) at the Home Office. CDLP has funds to provide a speaker and pay up to $500 for lunch costs.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in your area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar? Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.

Special thanks to our course directors, Clay Steadman (Kerrville) and Paul Tu (Houston), for the Beating the Drum for Justice Seminar held in Sugarland in January. Thanks to them and our speakers, we had 40 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Scott Edgett (Plano) and John Hunter Smith (Sherman), for the Beating the Drum for Justice Seminar held in McKinney in January. Thanks to them and our speakers we had 42 attendees.

Special thanks to course directors Lynn Richardson (Dallas) and Rick Wardroup (Lubbock) for the Indigent Defense seminar held in Dallas in February. Thanks to them and our speakers we had 103 attendees.

Special thanks to course director Rick Wardroup (Lubbock) for the Mental Health seminar held in Dallas in February. Thanks to him and our speakers we had 58 attendees.

Special thanks to our course directors, Terri Zimmermann (Houston) and John Hunter Smith (Sherman), for the Veterans Justice Clinic seminar held in Dallas in February. Thanks to them and our speakers we had 55 attendees.

The 85th Texas Legislature is in session in Austin. Our legislative team is monitoring, testifying, and advocating for TCDLA members at the Capitol. If you are a member, you can receive email updates on the Legislative Listserve.

Forty-one members joined President John Convery on his Presidents Cruise to the Caribbean in February. We had 10 hours of CLE, a fun cruise experience, and fabulous weather in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Does your local criminal bar need a speaker for your lunch meetings? Please call Melissa Schank (512-478-2514) at the Home Office. CDLP has funds to provide a speaker and pay up to $500 for lunch costs.

Do you need CLE credit and can’t attend our seminar training? Please call the Home Office for a list of the DVDs and accompanying CLE credit.

Don’t have a local criminal defense bar in our area? Would you like to re-energize or jump-start your organization? Are you interested in forming a local criminal defense bar?  Need help getting organized? Please contact Susan Anderson (Dallas), , Laurie Key (Lubbock), , or Carmen Roe (Houston), , co-chairs of the TCDLA Affiliate Committee.

Good verdicts to all.