TCDLA Honors Austin Professionals with Hall of Fame and Rising Star Awards

The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Announces the Hall of Fame Inductees

And Rising Star Award Winners at the 39th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course

6.5.26 (Austin, TX) – The 39th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course, named for the late Judge M. P. “Rusty” Duncan, III of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, will be held June 18-20, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk. On Thursday, June 20, 2026, TCDLA will honor the recipients of its prestigious 2026 awards at the TCDLA Awards Banquet.

 

Hall of Fame Inductee – honors a qualified lawyer for membership in the Hall of Fame who meets the following criteria: Minimum of 30 years has elapsed since engaging in active practice of law, or the candidate is deceased; Substantial commitment to defense of persons accused of crimes on appeal or trial, based on court excellence; and significant contributions to the profession.

NOTE: Charles F. Baird is a Gilmer native and a 1973 graduate of Gilmer High School.

Hon. Charles F. Baird – Austin, TX

• Youngest person ever elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, November 1990.
• Presided over the (first ever) posthumous exoneration of Tim Cole, 2009.
• Recipient of the Courage Award, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 2010.
• Recipient of the Civil Libertarian of the Year, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, 2010
• Twice awarded the Professor Excellence Award by the Law Student Bar Association of South Texas College, 2005 & 2000.

  Keith Hampton – Austin, TX

• Keith Hampton is the only lawyer in Texas history to win two contested clemency petitions, one before Texas Governor Rick Perry and the other before Texas Governor Greg Abbott, both resulting in the commutation of death sentences to life.
• He is only one of three attorneys to ever be twice awarded the TCDLA Percy Foreman Lawyer of the Year for his consistent legal victories, including the exoneration of innocent persons.
• Hampton won a death penalty case before the U.S. Supreme Court against Texas Solicitor General (now U.S. Senator) Ted Cruz in a 5-4 decision, a case that set (and improved) the standard for competency to be executed.
•  He worked up a writ petition to ensure that persons found incompetent to stand trial be transferred to state hospitals, resulting in hundreds of mentally ill persons transferred from jails to hospitals for treatment.
•  As TCDLA Legislative Director, Hampton championed new laws favorable to defendants and defense attorneys, including the Fair Defense Act (creating the Indigent Defense Commission), the DNA testing statute, life without parole as an alternative to execution (resulting in a dramatic decrease in death sentences),  corroboration requirements for undercover police and snitch testimony, eyewitness identification procedures and discovery reform that led to the Michael Morton Act.

 

Rising Stars – gives recognition to a lawyer licensed less than 10 years who has shown outstanding leadership in the past year – either in the representation of citizens accused and/or in his/her contribution to the efforts of TCDLA. The recipient must be a member in good standing of TCDLA.

Justice Kaigler – Austin, TX

• Successfully argued and won a motion to suppress evidence obtained through an unlawful search of a bicyclist’s backpack, defeating the State’s reliance on the automobile exception and resulting in a dismissal of a second-degree felony.
• Initiated and litigated court-ordered medication proceedings for an incompetent misdemeanor client with severe mental illness who would have been released from the jail before transfering to a state hospital for treatment.
• Successfully secured a PR bond for a client with severe mental illness, who had spent extensive time in solitary confinement, for his transfer to a respite center where he could reintegrate into society.
• Secured a sentence below the State’s plea offer through effective mitigation and advocacy in an open plea to the court for a client facing two third-degree felony charges.
• Advocated for the treatment of clients with mental illness within jail facilities, intervening to address conditions of confinement, communication with jail providers and securing access to necessary medical and mental health care.

   

  Jessica Lieck – Austin, TX

• Attorney at Dunham & Jones in Austin, focusing on a mitigation-first philosophy designed to reduce risk and preserve outcomes, while preparing every case with the intensity and rigor required for trial
• Graduated summa cum laude from Texas State University with a BA in Political Science and earned law degree from Texas Tech University with a degree concentration in criminal law and innocence
• Awarded the top grade in the Criminal Defense Clinic, received the Student Diversity & Pro Bono Achievement Awards, and served as two-time President of the Criminal Law Association during law school
• Previous recipient of the Charles Butts Memorial Scholarship, published in The Voice, Law School Students and New Lawyers committee member, and incoming Board of Directors member
• Tim Evans Trial College graduate, Texas Bar College member, recognized as a 2026 Super Lawyers Rising Star

  The Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course is the premier seminar for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and is generally acknowledged as the premier criminal law course in the nation, with more than 800 criminal defense practitioners from around the state in attendance. TCDLA is the largest statewide association of criminal defense lawyers in the country, as well as being the oldest—now celebrating 55 years defending individual freedoms.