Cathy Cochran has both prosecuted and defended people charged with crimes. And she has filed lawsuits on behalf of civil plaintiffs and defended businesses and ordinary citizens being sued. In other words, she’s seen all sides of all manner of legal arguments, and she knows how to win. Cathy loves to have a reasoned debate, applying the law. And this is why, as a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals where she served for 14 years, she is regarded as one of the most influential and consequential judges. She has a level of experience and legal insight that can serve any client in any circumstance.
Cathy’s first job was in the Harris County District Attorney’s office, trying felonies and misdemeanors before juries. She then discovered a great love for arguing the finer points of a case on paper, handling appeals. She wrote more than 200 felony appellate briefs, including a friend of the court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. She loves to debate important ideas when it comes to justice.
Cathy has represented some of the highest-profile names in Texas judicial history. While in the DA’s office, she directed the state’s response to the appeal filed by convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker. She later joined Rusty Hardin & Associates when Rusty launched his own firm, and there she served on the successful defense team that won an acquittal for Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, who was charged with domestic violence.
While working as an attorney, she continued to learn and to teach others. As an adjunct and visiting professor over the years at her alma mater, University of Houston Law Center, she was repeatedly voted Professor of the Year. After serving on a criminal justice task force for Gov. George W. Bush, she was asked to join his criminal justice policy team. Later, he appointed her to the Board of Directors of the Texas Youth Commission, which operated juvenile corrections facilities.
She returned to Rusty Hardin & Associates after her stint with Gov. Bush, but it didn’t last long. Gov. Rick Perry appointed her to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2001. Then she was elected to a six-year term the following year, and again in 2008. Having finished her second term, Cathy is happy to again be meeting with individual clients, learning their stories and representing them to the best of her very significant abilities.
