Gerald "Gerry" Harris Goldstein is a criminal defense
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
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** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
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* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
in
San Antonio, Texas, best known for his civil rights and drug-charge defenses. He is currently a partner o
Goldstein & Orrand is Board Certified by the
State Bar of Texas
The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Te ...
in
Criminal Law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
and
Criminal Appellate Law.
Early life and education
Goldstein was born in Santa Maria, California in 1944. At the time, his father, Eli Goldstein, was a lawyer working for the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) at the Army Air Force Base in Santa Maria. His parents later moved to
San Antonio, Texas, where Goldstein grew up.
[Gordon, Stephen H]
“Gerry Goldstein, for the Defense.”
San Antonio Lawyer. March–April 2013. Pg. 5 Goldstein has a bachelor's degree in art from
Tulane University and received his law degree from the
University of Texas at Austin in 1968.
Career
Goldstein joined his father's law firm in San Antonio. After a medical deferment from the Vietnam War, he partnered with
Maury Maverick, Jr.
Fontaine Maury Maverick Jr. (January 3, 1921 – January 28, 2003) was an American lawyer, politician, activist, and columnist from the U.S. state of Texas. A member of the prominent Maverick family, he was the great-grandson of Samuel Mave ...
, a liberal leader in Texas politics, to defend conscientious objectors and civil rights cases.
[Swartz, Mimi]
“The High Times of Gerry Goldstein”
Texas Monthly. April 1996
In 1970, Goldstein joined the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and began building a reputation for defending drug charge cases after he represented the organization's founder,
Keith Stroup, after a drug bust.
Goldstein represented a newly hired theater operator in San Antonio who had been arrested for showing the x-rated movie
Deep Thoat in 1974. Goldstein won the case before the Supreme Court on appeal.
Goldstein's 1978 appeal reversed the convictions in the Piedras Negras Jailbreak Case. In that case, the two men, Sterling Davis, Sr. and William McCoy Hill, entered the border city's jail in Mexico and freed fourteen American inmates charged with drug offenses. The U.S. government
indicted the two men alleging that a
sawed-off shotgun used during the raid violated gunrunning laws. The men went to prison. Goldstein won the appeal by arguing that the two men had unknowingly, as opposed to intentionally, violated the law because neither had known the length at which a sawed-off shotgun was illegal.
He represented one of Texas House Speaker
Billy Clayton's cronies in the kickback scandal known as
Brilab in 1980.
Goldstein represented a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy, regarding a raid of their Texas ranch. He represented the
Yearning for Zion Ranch head
Frederick Merril Jessop Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederi ...
's case.
The
polygamist sect was investigated and prosecuted after a massive child-abuse investigation. Goldstein argued in court that although the multiple marriages were not common, the group had the right to their faith and privacy.
Goldstein was elected president of the
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) in 1992 and the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) in 1994 and 1995.
[Anderson, Patrick]
“High in America: The True Story Behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana.”
Viking Press. 1981. Chapter 15.
He represented Mexican drug lord
Juan García Abrego after an arrest and extradition in January 1996. Abrego hired Roberto Yzaguirre, and then Yzaguirre brought Goldstein and Tony Canales into the case.
Abrego was accused of presiding over the flow of Colombian cocaine through northern Mexico into the U.S, as well as money laundering, attempted bribery, and the murders of numerous individuals. García Ábrego was convicted on all charges. He was sentenced to 11 life terms.
In 2008, he was the defense attorney for an indicted member of the
Yearning for Zion Ranch.
[Vine, Katy]
“Fundamental Arguments.”
Texas Monthly. November 2009
Goldstein testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2010 and was critical of
the Patriot Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Approp ...
. Goldstein's criticism centered around the detainment of his client, Dr. Al-Badr Al Hazmi, a radiology resident, who was arrested the morning after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Dr. Al Hazmi was later cleared of any wrongdoing but Goldstein highlighted the violation of Dr. Al Hazmi's Fifth Amendment protections in criticizing the Patriot Act and the authorization of the Federal government by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to monitor communications between suspected terrorist and their attorneys.
He wrote an
amicus brief on behalf of
Manuel Noriega.
Goldstein is also a former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, and of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.
["International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Criminal Lawyers"]
/ref>
In December 2019, Gerry Goldstein was selected as one of five 2019 recipients of the Texas Bar Foundation's Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award. The award recognizes attorneys whose practice has spanned 50 years or more and who adhere to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession and service to the public. In order to honor Mr. Goldstein the Bar Foundation commissioned an oral history to recognize and preserve the accomplishments of Mr. Goldstein's legal career.
Personal life
He married Christine Sayre in 1969.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Gerry
Texas lawyers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
University of Texas alumni