John Joseph Fahle

I have been a criminal defense lawyer ever since I have been a lawyer. In fact, even before. When I was at the University of Texas School of Law, I enrolled in the criminal defense clinic, where students, under the supervision of licensed attorneys, represented real clients in real criminal cases. After I graduated, I went to work for Gerry Goldstein, one of the premier criminal defense lawyers in the country. At the firm of Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley, I learned not only at the feet of Gerry Goldstein, but also other criminal defense giants like Ron Sinoway, Racehorse Haynes, Oscar Goodman, and Doug Tinker. 

I have never been a prosecutor. I was offered a job at the United States Attorney's Office in Phoenix, Arizona, but though I am not particularly religious, I have always lived by the words of Proverbs 12:6: "The wicked accuse; the godly defend." I turned that job down and have never looked back.

I am one of only 8 lawyers in Texas's 4th Administrative Judicial Region (stretching from San Antonio to Laredo and populated by over 3 million people) who is qualified to accept first-chair aapointments in death penalty cases. (Almost all death penalty counsel in Texas are appointed by the Court to ensure quality representation, and attorneys must pass strict experience, education, and apprenticeship standards in order to qualify).

I have practiced in State and Federal trial and appellate courts from Washington State, Utah, Nevada, and Missouri to Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, and New York. I have tried hundreds of criminal cases ranging from First Amendment obscenity cases to major drug conspiracies, white collar fraud cases and death penalty cases. In 2005, Nick Carter and I tried State of Wyoming v. Christopher Hicks, the first death penalty case in Wyoming since the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. And we won.

If there is one thing I have learned from my years of experience, it is this: Listen to your client. Too often lawyers think that because they know the law, they know everything. But only the client knows what happened, and if you try to form a defense strategy without their input, you will find yourself adrift at sea. Criminal defense is a team sport, and I will never forget that one of the most important members of the team -- and the only one with real skin in the game -- is the client.