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02/20/2026

Lawyers, news media professionals and students: On Feb. 28, the Houston Bar Association Law and the Media Committee and the Society of Professional Journalists will present "The Importance of Journalism and Free Press to US Democracy." Co-sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists Houston Pro Chapter, two panels will discuss challenges journalists face, recent landmark cases shaping media law, and practical strategies for protecting press freedom. The event also will feature a conversation with NPR National Desk Reporter Tom Bowman. Register here: https://bit.ly/4s1VtxA

12/24/2025

11/25/2025

🇺🇸 Sixty years ago this week, U.S. Army Gen. William Westmoreland sent a then-secret memo from Saigon to Washington, noting first, "We are under no restrictions from Washington with respect to defoliants." In other words, let the Agent Orange loose, and put more of it on the ground. In searching Gen. Westmoreland's papers at the LBJ Presidential Library for evidence of his interactions in Vietnam with our friend, Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Paris Davis - Every Weapon I Had, I copied the Westmoreland memo for a later discussion. When I asked Col. Davis about Agent Orange, he said, "Some days, it was hard to tell the difference between the rain and fog and what they were spraying everywhere." The banality of the general's order -- especially since the carcinogenic defoliant would harm or kill countless American soldiers and Vietnamese -- reminded me of the never-ending work necessary to truly support and protect the rights of our service members and, for that matter, our public safety personnel. Whether because of Agent Orange in Vietnam, war zone burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, toxic military housing now, or line-of-duty injuries and illnesses, lifetime access to due process, justice and medical care must be maintained for them. Standing up for them at parades or sports events is not enough. 🇺🇸

11/09/2025

08/18/2025

Texas can be a dangerous place for wrongly accused parents, especially in the so-called child protective services system. Retired Judge Mike Schneider hopes to change that. His advocacy has helped exonerate Texas mother Jessica Gasser, who faced false felony child abuse charges after her child was seized by state CPS. Ms. Gasser was accused of Munchausen by proxy — in other words, faking medical conditions in her toddler daughter when she was, in fact, seriously ill. In court filings, Schneider asserted the scheme was enabled by a purported law enforcement expert on the syndrome, doctors and high-level CPS bureaucrats. Ms. Gasser’s family is fully reunited and the child is now under the care of excellent doctors. The family is recovering from the three-year ordeal -- "medical kidnapping," as Ms. Gasser calls it. A court sanctioned the state for withheld evidence before the charges were dropped and Schneider's team has found medical records that were allegedly altered. His investigation goes on, meanwhile. Here’s a Law & Crime report on the evolving case:

Jessica Gasser has been "fully exonerated" of charges in Texas after being accused of subjecting her child to multiple unnecessary medical procedures

08/15/2025

As The Spence Law Firm, LLC honors its late founder, Gerry Spence, for his commitment to "the poor, the injured, the forgotten and the damned," the growing number of grateful tributes reflects his legacy in the legal community. The best aspects of his advocacy and teaching, like his audacity in taking on lost-cause cases, are unforgettable.

Calling himself America’s best trial lawyer, he won justice for Karen Silkwood and successfully defended Imelda Marcos. He also wrote best sellers.

06/18/2025

On this day in 1965, then-Captain Paris Davis - now Colonel and one of only 61 living Medal of Honor Recipients - displayed extraordinary courage and selflessness during a fierce engagement near B**g Son, Republic of Vietnam.

As commander of Detachment A-321, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Davis led a small team of U.S. advisors and the Vietnamese 883rd Regional Force Company on its first combat mission: a high-risk nighttime raid against a heavily fortified Viet Cong Regional Headquarters. His leadership enabled the element of surprise, resulting in over 100 enemy combatants killed.

But it was during the chaotic aftermath - while returning from the raid -that Davis’s character and valor shined most brightly.

Ambushed by a superior enemy force, Davis refused to be deterred. He exposed himself to relentless small arms fire to organize the disoriented company, direct fire support, and personally aid the wounded. Despite being shot in the leg, Davis declined medical evacuation and continued fighting alongside his men.

At one point, he called in artillery fire within 30 meters of his own position to suppress the enemy advance. Then, in an act of unflinching bravery, he sprinted across open terrain under heavy fire to rescue his team sergeant, seriously wounded and pinned down. While carrying him to safety, Davis was wounded again. Still, he stayed in the fight, refusing to leave the battlefield.

Even after reinforcements arrived, Davis would not depart until he located another U.S. advisor previously presumed dead. He found him clinging to life, directed his medical extraction, and remained until every one of his men was accounted for.

It took nearly 60 years for Paris Davis to be formally recognized with the Medal of Honor, a delay that does not diminish the magnitude of his heroism, but rather underscores the importance of telling and preserving these stories with the honor they are due.

Preserving stories like Davis’s is essential to honor the sacrifice and to inspire future generations with examples of valor, integrity, and service. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is committed to ensuring these incredible acts of bravery are never forgotten and continue to serve as a beacon of hope and resilience for our nation.

05/09/2025

For three years, military families sickened by the Navy's massive jet-fuel contamination of the water supply near Pearl Harbor have sought truth and justice. The first group of military families with historic Federal Tort Claims Act cases has now prevailed in federal court in Honolulu. After a two-week trial last year, a federal judge ruled this week that the Navy indeed poisoned the water supply and should pay damages to 17 military family members. Thousands of military family members and civilians reported illnesses after about 19,000 gallons of jet fuel from the Red Hill fuel depot gushed into the water supply. This case reminds us that military service should not require government-induced sickness and then gaslighting by commanders that ignored safety warnings about the fuel depot and water supply. The legal team for the military families will now seek to resolve the remaining 7,500 cases pending in federal court. In the meantime, the military families that stood up to the Government in the first phase of this case -- and the many others that still are -- deserve our respect. Here's the 60 Minutes report on the case from last year:

Thousands of gallons of jet fuel contaminated the Navy's drinking water system for Pearl Harbor. Families dealing with health issues are suing, alleging they...