AUSTIN — While Attorney General Ken Paxton is at the center of his impeachment trial, he is far from the biggest personality before the jurors: The trial features some of the most prominent figures in the Houston legal scene.
Representing the embattled AG are Dan Cogdell, 66, and Tony Buzbee, 55.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the South Texas College of Law, Cogdell has been described as “a gunslinger of a Texas criminal lawyer.” Having tried around 300 jury cases, he has become nationally recognized as one of the best lawyers in the U.S.
Early in his career, he represented a member of the Branch Davidians and survivor of the Waco massacre, Clive Doyle. Doyle was acquitted — “the only one that walked out of the courtroom,” as Cogdell remembered, according to Lawdragon.
The case significantly impacted his career.
“Thirty years after the fact, part of the reason I still walk the floors at night and try as hard as I can is because … [i]f we don’t stand up and defend people who are, in the eyes of many, indefensible – who will?”
Since then, Cogdell has continued to be a uniquely effective advocate, once even shocking himself with a cattle prod in front of a jury to show that it wouldn’t cause a heart attack. He also secured the only acquittal out of the infamous Enron trials.
Similarly memorable is Cogdell’s co-counsel, fellow Houstonian Tony Buzbee. A former Recon Marine officer, he graduated from Texas A&M University before earning his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
Buzbee defended Gov. Rick Perry when he was charged with abuse of office and coercion of a public servant.
Known for his energy and aggression when presenting cases, Buzbee often wins big for his clients. In 2015, he won over $40 million for the family of a sailor who died from a spider bite that went untreated.
Outside the courtroom, Buzbee has driven headlines for years, running for various political offices and once even parking a WWII-era tank in front of his house, much to the chagrin of his HOA.
On the other hand, the legal team for the House Board of Managers is headed by two preeminent octogenarian prosecutors, Dick DeGuerin, 82, and Rusty Hardin, 81.
DeGuerin is yet another Houston-based lawyer who, after getting both his undergraduate and law degrees from UT Austin, made his reputation handling tough cases. He secured a “not guilty” verdict for Billy Joe Shaver, who publicly shot a man outside of a bar, on the grounds of self-defense.
In a roundabout connection to opposing counsel Cogdell, DeGuerin was attorney to David Koresh during the famous Waco standoff, riding into the compound on a motorcycle to discuss potential negotiations with the leader.
His co-counsel, Rusty Hardin, took the majority of the airtime on the first day of the House’s prosecution of AG Paxton.
Similarly based in Houston, Hardin attended Wesleyan University for his undergraduate and Southern Methodist University for his law degree. During his time as assistant district attorney in the Bayou City, he tried more than 100 felony cases and won every single one.
Hardin has earned a reputation for being one of the most effective litigators in the country. His client list includes ExxonMobil, Rice University, the Las Vegas Sands, and a litany of professional athletes such as Scottie Pippen, Roger Clemens, and Rudy Tomjanovich.
Hardin is no stranger to Buzbee, as the two faced off while the older attorney was defending quarterback Deshaun Watson on sexual misconduct charges from nearly two dozen women. Their history could help explain the frequent back-and-forth between the two men in the Paxton trial.
At one point, following an objection by Buzbee, Hardin told Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, “I have made it this far in life without following the advice of Mr. Buzbee and will try to make it the rest of my life without it.”
So far, the impeachment trial has seen displays of tried-and-true Texas courtroom maneuvers as these legal legends spar in a nearly unparalleled moment in state history.