George “Mac” Secrest has been licensed as an attorney in the State of Texas for 36 years and has devoted the entirety of his practice to criminal law. He began his career as a Briefing Attorney for the Honorable Wendall Odom of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and served in that capacity from 1977 to 1978. In 1978, Mac was appointed an assistant district attorney in Houston and prosecuted both misdemeanor and felony offenses, as well as represented the State on appeal. In 1981, he was appointed an assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Texas and represented clients charged with crimes in the district and magistrate courts, as well as on appeal.
In 1983, Mac went into the private practice of law and in 1996 entered into a partnership with Robert C. “Bob” Bennett and practiced with Bob until his recent retirement. Mac has represented both individuals and corporate entities (and their officers and employees) in grand jury proceedings, at trial and on appeal. Mac’s practice is unique in that respect: unlike most criminal law practitioners who either handle pretrial/trial matters or appeals, Mac practices in both trial and appellate courts and handles cases in state and federal courts.
Mac has represented a number of high profile clients including being a member of the team of lawyers who defended Ken Lay in the Enron criminal litigation and the former Houston Chief of Police. He obtained a "not guilty by means of insanity" verdict from a jury in the capital murder prosecution of Evonne Rodriguez who was accused of strangling her four-month-old son with rosary beads in January 1997. In the J. R. McConnell bank fraud trials, he represented a senior lender of Mr. McConnell and obtained not guilty verdicts from a jury as to all counts in what was described by federal prosecutors as one of the largest land title frauds ever committed in United States history. He has represented the City of Houston in appellate litigation and has handled complex white collar cases involving anti-trust (price fixing/bid rigging), environmental crimes, securities fraud, bank and savings and loan fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, criminal copyright infringement, RICO, bribery, criminal civil rights violations, unauthorized interception of wire communications (wiretaps), conspiracy, tax fraud, trading with the enemy act violations, United States customs violations, and counterfeiting to name a few.
Mac has taught law school throughout his practice. He has trained law students as an adjunct professor at law at the University of Houston in the areas of criminal trial and appellate advocacy, criminal procedure and Texas criminal procedure. He is the author of O’Connor’s Texas Criminal Codes Plus which is the annotated reference work used by many criminal law practitioners in Texas state courts.
Mac has been Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1992 and also served as a Commissioner on the Board from 1992 to 2006. He was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to revise the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for the Office of the Governor. He has been honored as the Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Criminal Justice Section of the State Bar of Texas in 1998 and as Lawyer of the Year by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association in 2007. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1997.
Mac received his B.A. degree from the University of Houston in 1974 and graduated from St. Mary’s University, School of Law in 1977, earning a J.D., with distinction.
CERTIFICATIONS:
Criminal Appellate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2013)
Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012)
BAR ADMISSIONS:
Texas, 1977
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1981
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1982
U.S. Supreme Court, 1984
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1989
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1990
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1992
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1994
U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1997
EDUCATION:
University of Houston (B.A., 1974)
St. Mary’s University School of Law (J.D., with distinction, 1977)
John Harlan Society
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Briefing Attorney for the Honorable Wendell Odom,
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1977-1978
Assistant District Attorney, Harris County, Texas, 1978-1981
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Texas, 1981-1983
Adjunct Professor of Law, Criminal Procedure, South Texas College of Law, 1984
Adjunct Professor of Law, Appellate Advocacy, University of Houston, 1990
Adjunct Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, University of Houston, 1991-1994
Adjunct Professor of Law, Criminal Procedure, University of Houston, 1996
Adjunct Professor of Law, Texas Criminal Procedure, University of Houston, 1994-2003, 2007, 2011-2015
MEMBERSHIPS:
Governor’s Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, 1995-1996
Texas Board of Legal Specialization Exam Commission, Criminal Law, 1992-2006
Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association
Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, Treasurer 1996-1997
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Vice-Chairman, Harris County Public Defender Board, 2010-2013
Chairman, Harris County Public Defender Board, 2014
LAW RELATED PUBLICATIONS:
Jury Selection and Criminal Law, and Texas Criminal Jury Practice,
Texas Practice Guide, Second Edition, 1983
Texas Tech Law Review, Fifth Circuit Survey, Criminal Law, 1995
O’Connor’s Criminal Codes Plus, 1997-2015 eds.
HONORS:
Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year, Criminal Justice Section, State Bar of Texas, 1998
Lawyer of the Year, Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, 2007
Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 1997-2015 (www.bestlawyers.com/aboutus)
• White-Collar Criminal Defense
• Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense
Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2014-2015 (www.bestlawyers.com/aboutus)
• Appellate Practice
“AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell (www.martindale.com/ratings)
PERSONAL:
Born in Laredo, Texas, January 5, 1952
SEMINARS: (presentation of lecture/demonstration)
July 22 - 25, 2013 — Dallas
39th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Course Director
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
September 13, 2012 — Houston
Appellate Law Seminar
Speaker: Oral Argument: A Guide to Winning the Moot Court Round
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Asociation
July 23, 2012 — Houston
38th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Defenses
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
July 18, 2011 — Houston
37th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Defenses
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
May 14, 2010 — Houston
Speaker: Legal Kinetosis or Kinesia, the Art of Filing and Litigating Motions
Sponsored by the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers
October 7, 2008 — Shreveport, LA
The Art of Criminal Law
Speaker: Significant Criminal Law Decisions of the United States Supreme Court, October Term 2007
Co-Sponsored by the Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
July 28-31, 2008 — San Antonio
34th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Federal Crimes and Defenses
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
December 7, 2007 — Dallas
“You Asked for It . . . Here It is!” Voir Dire Seminar
Demonstration: Theft by Fraud
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
July 30, 2007 — Austin
Harris County Judicial Education Conference
Speaker: Encouraging Professionalism Among Members of the Harris County Bar
Sponsored by the Administrative Offices of the District Courts, Harris County
June 7-9, 2007 — San Antonio
20th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course
Panel Discussion; Topic — Criminal Law Specialty Certification
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
March 25-30, 2007 — Huntsville
31st Annual Texas Criminal Trial College Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
March 9, 2007 — Houston
Defending Sex Crimes Involving Children Seminar
Speaker: How to Try and Prevent the Evisceration of Your Client’s Right to Due Process and a Grand Jury Indictment
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
October 27, 2006 — Houston
Criminal Law Institute
Speaker: Criminal Practice: Comparing and Contrasting State and Federal Courts
Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association
December 9, 2005 — Dallas
Red Blood, Black Robes, and Deep Ellum Blues: Representing Clients Charged with Crimes of Violence
Speaker: Elements of Crimes of Violence, Lesser Included Offenses and Parties
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
November 21, 2005
Newton/Silverman Class
Speaker: Insanity Defense
Sponsored by the University of Houston
July 18-21, 2005 — Corpus Christi
31st Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Recent Significant Criminal Law Decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
March 21-24, 2005 — Huntsville
29th Annual Texas Criminal Trial College Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
October 10, 2003 — Houston
Criminal Law Institute
Speaker: The Practical Effects of “Real Time” Prosecution in Complex Corporate Fraud
Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association
August 22, 2003 — Houston
Annual Conference
Speaker: Keeping a Low Profile in a High Profile Case
Sponsored by the Office of the Federal Public Defender
July 28-31, 2003 — Dallas
29th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Handling Multi-Defendant Cases and Parallel Civil and Criminal Litigation
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
April 10-11, 2003 — Houston
Legal & Forensic Issues in Child Abuse Cases
Course Director
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
March 9-14, 2003 — Huntsville
27th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
March 7, 2003 — Houston
Lecture to Judge Charlie Baird’s Class
Topic: Defenses, Justifications and Lesser Included Offenses
Sponsored by the South Texas College of Law
September 5-6, 2002 — New Orleans, LA
Federal Law Short Course
Speaker: U.S. Supreme Court Update
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
July 22-25, 2002 — Houston
28th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course
Speaker: Handling Multi-Defendant Cases
Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas
March 24-29, 2002 — Huntsville
26th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
January 4-11, 2002 — Austin
Capital Trial Advocacy Program
Group Leader
Sponsored by the Center for American & International Law
June 7-9, 2001 — San Antonio
14th Annual Rusty Duncan Seminar
Speaker: A Reasoned Approach to Insanity
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
March 26-27, 2001 — Huntsville
25th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
April 14, 2000 — Houston
Criminal Bench Bar Conference
Panelist: Mental Health & the Criminal Justice System
Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association
March 26-31, 2000 — Huntsville
24th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
April 5-6, 1999 — Huntsville
23rd Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty
Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
September 24, 1998 — Austin
Advanced Federal Law Short Course
Speaker: Supreme Court Decisions and Congressional Legislation
Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
August 20-21, 1998 — Boise, ID
Annual Western All-Star Conference and Confabulation
Speaker: Clemency Proceedings and Dealing with the Media
Sponsored by the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho & the U.S. District Court