My father’s family moved to Texas from the Germanic Republics in the 1850s and settled in what is now Fayette County. My great-grand-mother was born in LaGrange, Texas and all of her progeny have been Texans.

            I was born in Alice, Jim Wells County, Texas in 1946. My father was worked for an oil well service company and we moved frequently, finally settling in Houston in 1960. I graduated from Houston’s Lamar High School and received my undergraduate degree from Baylor in 1968.

            I worked in the private sector and attended South Texas College of Law in the evening until I graduated in 1976. I took the November 1976 Bar Examination and became licensed to practice law on February 14, 1977. I joined the Harris County District Attorneys Office in March of 1977 and remain to this day.

            As an assistant district attorney I tried well over 200 first chair jury trials and was responsible for the disposition of literally thousands of criminal cases. I served as a Major Fraud prosecutor, the county’s drug prosecutor[1] and in other investigative units. In 1993 I was recognized as the Outstanding Trial Lawyer for the Fifth Circuit by the Association of Government Lawyers Involved in Capital Litigation.

            I was appointed as a special prosecutor for Robertson County, Texas in 1986. I have been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center and have been a frequent lecturer in law enforcement academies. From 1978 to 1986 I was a certified peace officer.

            On November 7, 2000 I was elected Harris County District Attorney and took office on January 1, 2001. Harris County is the third most populous county in the nation. The nearly 500 staff members here include 236 attorneys, 56 investigators. The office is organized into 6 Bureaus: Felony Trial (which also includes Bond Forfeiture and Victim Witness divisions); Professional Development (Misdemeanor, Justice Court Prosecutions and Juvenile divisions); Public Service (Intake, Grand Jury, Child Abuse, Family Criminal Law and Check Fraud divisions); Special Crimes (Gangs/ Narcotics, Major Fraud, Asset Forfeiture, Major Offender and Consumer Fraud divisions); Legal Services (Direct Appeal, Post Conviction Writs, General Litigation, Environmental Crimes and Welfare Fraud divisions); and Governmental Affairs (Public Integrity and Police Integrity divisions). The Information Systems Technology division (which includes maintenance of our in-house computers, electronic security, forensic computer investigations and computer animated graphics) keeps the office running efficiently.

            The Harris County District Attorneys Office is charged with the prosecution of all crimes committed in Harris County with the exception of municipal and traffic violations that occur within the county’s incorporated cities.

            I serve on the Board of Directors for both the National District Attorneys Association and the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

            I am married to Cynthia Hoover Rosenthal, a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We have three children; the eldest is a practicing civil lawyer. We have also been blessed with a fourteen year old and a twelve year old.


[1] Seized documents as the sites of methamphetamine laboratories referred to me personally as the “Meth Monster”.