Alex Wathen was named Appellate Lawyer of the Week by Texas Lawyer Magazine for his victory in the Hassan v. State appeal reversing his client's conviction.
In its latest issue Texas Lawyer Magazine has named Alex Wathen Appellate Lawyer of the Week. The article is available on its website to those who register. Texas Lawyer decided to honor Wathen for obtaining a reversal in the case of a Houston Cab Driver charged with running a red light. During jury selection the prosecutor used all of his strikes against minority jurors and in spite of Wathen’s Batson motion the trial judge did not require the prosecutor to give race neutral reasons for the strikes. When the Fourteenth Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to hold a full Batson hearing the prosecutor could not come up with reasons for two of the strikes, although he stated that he never strikes people based on race, causing the appellate court to reverse the conviction.
Alex Wathen has been known for his frequent Batson motions in municipal court and his pro bono appeals for deserving clients who cannot afford to pay. ”It is about the integrity and fairness of the process: Allowing people to serve on juries regardless of race and ensuring that the defendant gets a fair trial by a jury that is a cross-section of the community,” said Alex Wathen.
