Rusty Hardin

Rusty Hardin & Associates, P.C., Houston, Texas

Rusty Hardin's practice is primarily civil trial and criminal defense. The civil practice is both plaintiff and defense. The criminal practice involves the defense of individuals and corporations in both federal and state courts.

He is a 1965 graduate of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., and earned his J.D. degree in 1975 at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.

From 1975-1990 he served as Assistant District Attorney, Felony Division Chief, for Harris County, Tex. (The City of Houston is in Harris County.) He tried more than 100 first chair felony jury trials, including approximately 14 death penalty cases. He directed the office's training program for prosecutors from 1977-1988. In 1987 he directed the successful statewide lobbying effort with the public and the Texas Legislature for passage of a constitutional amendment and statute granting the state the limited right to appeal criminal cases.

Honors and accomplishments during his tenure with the Harris County District Attorney's Office included:

• State Bar Prosecutor of the Year (1989)
• Directed the 1989 statewide effort of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association on behalf of legislation important to law enforcement
• Lectured throughout the state and nation to prosecutors on trial tactics
• Received National College of District Attorneys Lecturer of Merit Award (1989)

In 1990 he founded Texas People Against Crime (TPAC), a statewide organization of crime victims, law enforcement, and members of the general public. TPAC was a general purpose political action committee dedicated to addressing criminal justice issues from the perspective of crime victims and law enforcement.

From February 1991 to May 1996, he was a partner in Hardin, Beers, Hagstette & Davidson. The firm was comprised of five former prosecutors with significant trial experience engaged in a general civil and appellate practice in both state and federal courts.

From February-October 1994, Rusty was Chief Trial Counsel for the Whitewater Independent Counsel's Office in Little Rock, Ark.

He formed Rusty Hardin & Associates, P.C. in May 1996.

Other Professional Activities:

• Advisory Board, Parents of Murdered Children
• Advisory Board, Gulf Coast Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
• Vice Chair, State Bar Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Committee
• Past Chairman, State Bar Committee on Crime in the Streets
• Past Vice Chairman, State Bar Committee for the Revision of the Insanity Laws
• State Bar Committee for Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure
• Past member, State Bar Committee on Judicial Delay
• Past Member, American Bar Association Committee on the Prosecutorial Function

His teaching experience includes:

• Lecturer, Texas District and County Attorneys Association
• Faculty Member, National College of District Attorneys
• Lecturer to various State Bar CLE Seminars on Evidence
• Instructor, Houston Police Academy
• Lecturer on trial tactics at numerous state prosecutors' associations and conferences
• Lecturer on Jury Selection and Use of DNA as Evidence to the Association of Government Attorneys for Capital Litigation (1989, 1990)