Recognitions
The DA’s Office in Montgomery County was recently named the 2025 Prosecutor of the Year by Texas Parks & Wildlife. This award honors a person’s (or office’s) commitment to prosecuting cases that protect Texas’s natural resources and citizens, as well as the dedication to working alongside Texas game wardens.
At our Legislative Update course in Edinburg, TDCAA presented Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa with a Lone Star Award, which recognizes legislators who do work that helps prosecution. During the legislative session, Mr. Hinojosa helped pass several laws that created more rights for victims and increased the pay for district judges and district and county attorneys.
Retirement
Mike West, a longtime prosecutor in Smith County, retired in September after 21 years in that office. Just the week before, he was honored with the Kepple Award at our Annual Criminal & Civil Law Conference in Round Rock.
Appointments
In October, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Kenneth Cusick as the Criminal District Attorney in Galveston County; Cusick replaces Jack Roady, who retired in September.
Prior to his appointment, Cusick was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas; he also served in the U.S. Marine Corps, received a Bachelor of Science in economics from Texas A&M University, and earned his Juris Doctor from the South Texas College of Law.
Also in October, Governor Abbott appointed Barry Wallace, the first assistant criminal district attorney in Upshur County, as the new elected CDA. Former CDA Billy Byrd retired earlier in the month.
Wallace is a graduate of East Texas A&M and earned his law degree from St. Mary’s University. He also served in the U.S. Navy.
Similarly, in Montgomery County, first assistant district attorney Mike Holley was appointed as the district attorney, replacing Brett Ligon, who had resigned to run for the Texas Senate. Holley served in the U.S. Army, primarily in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and he earned his law degree from Texas Tech University’s School of Law.