New State Public Defender’s Office Opens in Eagle Pass
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
A five attorney state public defender office opened in Eagle Pass earlier this month on Jefferson Street to represent defendants charged with criminal offenses related to Operation Lone Star.
Since 2021 when the State of Texas launched Operation Lone Star, thousands of persons have been detained, charged with, and/or convicted with state felony offenses, creating a need for a state public defender program in the counties where many of these cases are emanating from such as Maverick, Dimmit, and Zavala counties.
Eagle Pass, Texas is now home to one of these state public defenders offices for defendants indicted with state felony charges arising from the smuggling of human beings or human trafficking, particularly under the new laws enacted by the Texas Legislature in 2023.
Leading the new state public defender’s office in Eagle Pass is veteran lawyer, former elected district attorney, State Bar Director, former judge, journalist, and member of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Steve Fischer of El Paso, Texas.
Among the attorneys hired for this new state public defender’s office include dynamic and experienced lawyers, including Fernanda Benavides of Rio Grande City as the managing attorney, former State Bar of Texas lawyer Daniel Martinez, and local attorney Nikki Schmerber. An additional attorney remains to be hired to fill-out the state public defender’s office in Eagle Pass.
Eagle Passan Patti Hernandez is the front desk paralegal. Hernandez has a Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne. Also working at the office is Rebecca Vera as a staff associate.
“My attorneys are dynamic, and consist of interchangeable parts. If you deal with one of us, you deal with us all. I’m certain they will establish a stellar reputation in our area and around the state. We are excited to be in the center of what will be the epic center of legal and immigration history,” said Fischer.
Fischer is also bringing with him his dog, Shasharoostics (Rooster), who was featured in the Wall Street Journal and the Texas Tribune (“My dog is better than your lawyer” fame) for her spoofs on fake lawyer awards.
Currently, the Eagle Pass state public defender’s office will focus on Operation Lone Star cases and has approximately 80 defendants or cases assigned to it from Central Magistration in Del Rio, Texas, expecting to quickly add to this caseload. In Maverick County, 365th Judicial District Judge Amado J. Abascal, III handles the Operation Lone Star felony docket.
