Best Criminal Lawyer in Bexar County, TX
Jason Goss
Criminal Lawyer
Jason Goss attended St. Mary’s University – School of Law, where he graduated in 2009 in the top 5% of his class and earned Manga Cum Laude honors. After graduating, he began practicing law in San Antonio as a prosecutor for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. He served nine years as a prosecutor, giving him an extensive background and experience with high-profile cases. He has 12 years of experience practicing law.
Jason became a Felony Court Chief after just five years, among the quickest to reach such a position in Bexar County history. His drive, work ethic, and selflessness are qualities that rank him among the region’s premier attorneys.
As a prosecutor, Jason was responsible for the reindictment of Genene Jones, known as the “Angel of Death,” a San Antonio pediatric nurse who allegedly killed 60 babies at what was then Bexar County Hospital (now University Hospital of San Antonio) from 1980-1982. He also served as the lead prosecutor in the capital murder case of Taymor “Tay-K 47” McIntyre.
Like fellow lawyer Patrick Ballantyne, Jason is also Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. As a Board-Certified Specialist in criminal law, he has achieved what less than 1% of all lawyers in Texas have achieved; this represents his dedication to the practice of criminal law.
Jason has given back to the local community by serving as a case manager for people with HIV/AIDS. He offered legal assistance to persons affected by HIV/AIDS and Safe Harbor, a community-based program that helps parents with supervised child visitation and custody exchanges.
Sean Henricksen
Criminal Lawyer
When I was younger, I was arrested for DWI. I still remember the feeling that came along with the arrest. I was embarrassed, confused, and didn’t know where to find the help I needed. I hired a lawyer who handled the legal elements of my problem successfully, but my attorney didn’t help with what I was going through emotionally.
I arrived at my first court date without knowing what to expect. Fortunately, my case got dismissed. However, I was never told that I could have worked to get the arrest taken off of my record. Each time I went for a job interview or applied for school, I had to relive the mistake I had made and the feelings associated with it. Potential employers asked me to explain what happened and why I’d been arrested. This was a point of embarrassment, and I never knew how significantly my arrest would impact my life and future decisions.
After graduating from law school, I helped good people that were in the same position that I had been in. Because of my experiences, I was able to see the person apart from the crimes they were charged with.
I have made it my mission to help people in the same position I was in. Not only am I committed to getting you the best outcome, but I will stand beside you as we go through the process together. I want to learn about your life while also informing you of what you can expect. Long periods of silence cause confusion and needless anxiety. I will reach out periodically to see if you have any questions and to find out how you are doing.
Thankfully, I was able to get past my arrest years ago. I now have a wife and children whom I love. I am grateful to be able to help others get past their arrests. I have been voted one of the best criminal defense attorneys in this area, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. This is more than a job or career.
Shane Byrd
Criminal Lawyer
A successful local businessman and owner of three bond companies, National Bonding of Lubbock, Lone Star Bail Bond, and Garcia Bail Bond, Shane has worked for more than three decades to assist clients and their families navigate their way through the criminal justice system, liaising with attorneys, judges, clerks, and the courts throughout Lubbock and most of Texas. He soon realized that his passion for helping his clients extended beyond helping them get bonded out of jail.
With his undergraduate study at Texas Tech University in criminal justice, he pursued his dream of becoming a criminal defense attorney and graduated with his J.D. from Charlotte School of Law, Charlotte, North Carolina. Returning home to Lubbock, he is now a Partner at Texas Criminal Defense Group and focuses his practice in the area of criminal defense. Shane’s strong ties to the Lubbock community extend to ownership of a number of local businesses and the many events he has produced for Texas Tech students. As a business owner, he understands that good people make mistakes and is driven by his passion to protect the future of such persons and resolving their cases quickly and positively.
Work Experience
| Title | Company name | Duration |
| Partner | Texas Criminal Defense Group | 2015 – Present |
| Partner | Hamilton, Hull & Byrd | 2015 – 2018 |
Roberto Ambrosino
Criminal Lawyer
At the Law Office of Roberto Ambrosino, PLLC, in San Antonio, Texas, Roberto Ambrosino takes immense pride in steadfastly advocating for the accused and individuals facing challenging legal circumstances. Roberto grew up in a working class household near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became a first generation college graduate. His devotion to diligence and sacrifice is evident in his collaborative efforts with clients to actualize comprehensive legal representation.
Focusing on criminal defense matters, encompassing felonies, misdemeanors, DWIs, theft and assaults, Mr. Ambrosino has garnered extensive experience, successfully managing thousands of criminal cases across more than 40 Texas counties. His clientele is diverse, ranging from educators, medical professionals, students, and nurses to fellow legal practitioners and hardworking individuals from various walks of life. Moreover, he has earned an impressive reputation with over 100 positive client reviews and peer endorsements.
Mr. Ambrosino pursued his legal education on scholarship at Texas Tech University School of Law, attaining his J.D. in 2008. During his law school years, he engaged in a meaningful internship with the Innocence Project, where he meticulously reviewed letters from incarcerated individuals and scrutinized claims of wrongful imprisonment. Additionally, Mr. Ambrosino served as a research assistant for a distinguished law professor, contributing to the publication of the article titled “Throwing the Baby Out with the Bathwater: A Call to Reinstate the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program” (Vol. 18, No. 4) in the American Bar Association Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law. Also, he functioned as a student lawyer for the Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, representing clients in court before even graduating from law school.
Commencing his professional career, Mr. Ambrosino secured a position at a prominent civil rights law office. Notably, one of the most challenging cases he addressed revolved around erroneous positive results in urinalysis drug tests conducted by the Bexar County Probation Department and their affiliated drug laboratory. This experience heightened his awareness of injustices within the criminal justice system and ultimately inspired the establishment of his own criminal defense practice in 2009.
Christine Dauphin Hernández
Criminal Lawyer
Christine Dauphin Hernández is passionate about helping people. As a child, she often accompanied her mother to work, and learned the value of community service and community leadership. In 1987, her mother, the late Jo Ann Dauphin Moore, was recruited by former Mayor Henry Cisneros as the first Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of San Antonio. Although time was cut short by her sudden passing in 1997, the impression she made on Christine was tremendous. She left a great legacy and one which she strives to live up to as a mother and public servant. She understands that for many people like herself, life can be challenging at times, but believes it is what we do in those challenging times that defines us. She looks at all of the things in life that might bring someone down, as tools of strength and character building. Losing her mother at a young age gave Christine maturity, divorce gave her understanding and courage, and being a single mother gave her compassion. All of these life experiences shaped her into the judge that she was at Municipal Court and the mother, wife, and lawyer that she is today.
Academically, Christine began her career in law in Louisiana, receiving a law degree from Tulane University. After being admitted to the bar in Texas, she spent a dozen years known as Judge Lacy working as a City Municipal Judge and Criminal Magistrate Judge in San Antonio.
She viewed her role as judge as one that is necessarily complemented by active involvement in community service activities. Christine is a board member for Girls Inc. of San Antonio, and has served as a workplace mentor for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and a member of Texas Lawyers For Children. She volunteers with the Bexar County Domestic Violence Task Force and is a commissioner for the City of San Antonio Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. Additionally, she takes pride in affiliations with the San Antonio branch of the NAACP and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Fernando Ruiz
Criminal Lawyer
Fernando Ruiz originates from Brownwood Texas and was awarded his bachelor’s degree at The University of Texas at Austin in 2006. He received his Juris Doctor at the University of Arkansas and became a licensed attorney in the State of Texas in 2011.
He began his legal career working tirelessly for the immigrant community in Deportation, Consular Processing, and Family-Based Immigration. Coming from an immigrant family, he understands the urgency of resolving criminal matters in a competent manner with immigration consequences in mind.
At his prior employment, he worked with the indigent community in Hays, Caldwell, and Travis County to assist in providing quality criminal representation to individuals that may not have the resources to adequately represent themselves in criminal proceedings.
He has also dedicated himself to being the voice of abused and neglected children working as Ad Litem Guardian for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) organization of Travis County and Northwest Arkansas.
During Law School, he was awarded the Robert F. Fussell Top Pro Bono Student Award for his countless voluntary hours. He interned for Circuit Judge Division III Jay Finch, who handled the majority of juvenile cases in the area. Mr. Ruiz interned for Wal-Mart Legal and Legal Aid of Arkansas. During his tenure with Legal Aid of Arkansas, he helped women who were victims of abuse with obtaining protection orders and with other legal issues.
Elsa Torres
Criminal Lawyer
Elsa Torres, the paralegal in the office, began her career as a paralegal in 2007 and joined George Scharmen in April 2012. Elsa is responsible for day to day tasks of every DWI and Intoxication related case in the office. Elsa guides the clients through their court case and court process. She prides herself in maintaining excellent communication with each client and makes herself available to them as much as she can. She provides legal and administrative support to George and makes sure the office runs smoothly every single day.
Elsa was voted Top Paralegal in 2021 in Scene in SA monthly magazine by the legal community that respects the quality of work she performs everyday.
Elsa has a B.A. in Business Administration and is a certified Paralegal.
Thomas J. Lane
Criminal Lawyer
Thomas Lane is a criminal defense attorney living and practicing law in San Antonio, Texas. He was born and raised in Houston, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in History. Following completion of his undergraduate education, he worked as an Investigator with Child Protective Services in Harris County before leaving to enroll at St. Mary’s Law School in 2009. While at St. Mary’s Law School, Thomas interned for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, studied abroad in Innsbruck, Austria at the Institute of World Legal Problems with Judge András Sajó of the European Court of Human Rights, and competed with the nationally recognized St. Mary’s Mock Trial Team. After graduation and admission to the Texas Bar in 2013 initially worked in the field of Oil and Gas Law transitioning to focus on criminal defense in private practice in 2015.
In 2017, with lead counsel, Casie Gotro, Thomas Lane and Vivek Jampala helped successfully defend Bandido’s Dallas Chapter President Christopher “Jake” Carrizal from charges stemming from the Twin Peaks shootout in Waco, Texas. The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office indicted over 150 individuals for organized criminal activity and imposed excessive bail on nearly every defendant by accusing them of being gang members. Mr. Carrizal’s case was the only Twin Peaks case to go to trial. As a direct result of the factual inconsistencies and misconduct uncovered during Carrizal’s trial, all of the more than 150 cases resulting from the Twin Peaks shootout have been dismissed.
In 2019, he co-founded the law firm of Hunter, Lane & Jampala PLLC, where his focus remains on criminal trial litigation, criminal appeals and post-conviction writs of habeas corpus. Thomas is a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Texas Independent Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in the State of Texas, the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Western, Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of Texas.
What Happens If You Lose a Criminal Appeal in Texas?
If you lose a criminal appeal in Texas, there are several potential consequences and next steps:
- Conviction and sentence upheld: The original conviction and sentence from the trial court will remain in effect.
- Limited further appeal options: You may have some additional appeal options, but they become more limited:
- Petition for Discretionary Review: You can file this with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals within 30 days of the appellate court’s decision. This court has discretion to accept or deny the petition.
- Federal habeas corpus: If you’ve exhausted state remedies, you may be able to file a federal habeas corpus petition, typically within one year of your conviction becoming final.
- Begin or resume serving sentence: If you were out on bail during the appeal, you’ll likely have to begin or resume serving your sentence.
- Potential for plea bargain: In some cases, the prosecution may offer a plea bargain to avoid further appeals.
- Explore post-conviction remedies: You might consider other post-conviction options like:
- Writ of habeas corpus
- Motion for new trial (if new evidence is discovered)
- Request for DNA testing (if applicable)
- Consult with attorney: It’s crucial to discuss your specific situation and options with your appellate attorney.
- Pay court costs and fees: You may be required to pay additional court costs and fees associated with the appeal process.
It’s important to note that each case is unique, and the exact consequences can vary depending on the specific circumstances of your case and the nature of the appeal. If you’re in this situation, it’s highly advisable to consult with an experienced criminal appeals attorney to understand your options and the best course of action.