J. Brett Harrison
Shareholder
Brett's office is in Tyler, Texas, the county seat of Smith County, but he regularly practices all over East Texas. He makes regular court appearances in Longview, Gregg County; Palestine, Anderson County; Rusk, Cherokee County; Henderson, Rusk County; Quitman, Wood County; Athens, Henderson County; and Canton, Van Zandt County. He also takes cases in Rains County, Hopkins County, Franklin County, Camp County, Upshur County, Panola County, Angelina County, Houston County, and Freestone County.
Areas of Practice
- 100% Criminal Law and Civil Rights
Certified Legal Specialties
- Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2005
- Criminal Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy, 2006
Bar Admissions
- Texas
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
Education
- St. Mary's University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas
- J.D. - 1995
- Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
- B.A. - 1992
Published Works
- Inside Deanna Laney's Capital Murder Trial, The Texas Prosecutor
- Strategies for Defending DWI Cases in Texas, Aspatore Books, a Thomson Reuters business, 2009
- The Current State of Confrontation, College Bar Bulletin, State Bar of Texas, Spring, 2011
Classes/Seminars
- Speaker, The Confrontation Clause," Texas Criminal Defense Association's Downtown Bill of Rights Review - Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, Fort Worth, September 6, 2007 - September 7, 2007
- Instructor, "Courtroom Demeanor/Report Writing", Tyler Junior College Police Academy, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- "Crawford and the Confrontation Clause Update", Smith County Bar Association, 2008, 2009, 2010
- "Obtaining the Release of Adults and Juvenile", Smith county Bar Association, 2006
Honors and Awards
- Texas Lawyer Rising Star, 2007, 2008, 2009
Professional Associations and Memberships
- State Bar of Texas
- Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers' Association
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- College of the State Bar
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization Criminal Law Exam Commission, 2007 - 2009
- National Board of Trial Advocacy Exam Commission, 2007 - 2008
- Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Smith County Bar Association
Past Employment Positions
- First Assistant Criminal District Attorney, Smith County District Attorney's Office, 2004 - 2005
- Smith County, Assistant Criminal District Attorney, 1996 - 2004
