Lawyer hired in capital case six months out of law school can continue as lead counsel, judge rules
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Ruling on a prosecution motion, a Texas judge has decided a capital murder defendant is entitled to keep a lawyer hired six months after graduating from law school.
Judge Don Kraemer of Huntsville, Texas, said defendant Howard Wayne Lewis had a Sixth Amendment right to keep 25-year-old Maverick Ray of Houston as his lead defense lawyer, report the CNHI News Service and the Huntsville Item.
Lewis nodded his head in agreement as Kraemer issued his ruling, the stories say.
Kraemer considered the issue based on a motion by the District Attorney’s office contending that Ray doesn’t have the experience to act as lead attorney. District Attorney David Weeks has expressed concerns that Ray’s lack of experience could be an issue on appeal. “I understand the Sixth Amendment,” Weeks said, “but this is unfair to Mr. Lewis and unfair to the state of Texas.”
Lewis is accused in the July 2013 strangulation death of his infant son and the beating death of the boy’s grandmother.
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