Habern, O'Neil, Pawgan

Habern, O'Neil, & Pawgan L.L.P. is a full-service criminal defense law firm. Our lawyers have over 75 years combined experience representing clients in all stages of the criminal justice process. While we are probably best known for our work representing clients in parole hearings, clemency actions such as pardons and sentence cuts, writ of habeas corpus applications, prison time credit and disciplinary issues and other post-conviction legal matters, we also maintain a full-scale State and Federal criminal defense trial practice. We hope our website will provide you with a useful overview of who we are and what we do.

Attorney Bill Habern was honored by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association at their annual banquet with their 2011 Life Time Achievement Award.

Of his life’s work, Habern says, “If 40 years ago when I got my law license, someone had told me that I’d spend my career representing prison inmates and their families for a living, I’d have told them there were crazy. What our law firm does is a very important area of law that is rapidly expanding while at the same time getting more and more complicated. Despite that expansion, Texas is without a meaningful, full time organization that is active in its pursuit of prisoner’s civil rights. This is not the case in many other states. I am also concerned that I do not know of a single law school in Texas that offers a course directed at representing clients facing the collateral consequences of a felony conviction. This area of law deals with a lot more that just parole or a prisoner’s civil rights. It has to do with a whole new world of issues that must be faced by legislatures, the courts, the family, and the offender. Law schools today seldom prepare young lawyers to deal with the collateral circumstances of a felony conviction. It is mostly lessons of law that is learned on the job and in the streets.”

Ex parte Evans, 338 S.W.3d 545, Ct. Crim.App. (2011)
Suit was filed by Scott Pawgan
Court of Criminal Appeals overturns Parole revocation based on a violation of sex offender conditions
imposed without due process where parolee had no previous conviction for a sex offense.

Ex parte Thiles, 333 S.W. 3d 148, Ct. Crim. App. (2011)
Bill Habern assisted with Dallas Local Council Craig Jett;and Amarillo Co-Council, John Bennett:
Court of Criminal Appeals ordered TDCJ to award 23 years time credit to Claus Thiles.

Graham v. Owens, No. A-08-CA-006SS, (US Dist. Ct.), August 6, 2009.
Suit was filed by the team of Bill Habern, Scott Pawgan and Attorney Richard Gladden
(Denton):
United States District Court Western District Austin Division declares parole conditions unconstitutional due
to imposition of sex offender conditions of parole without due process, where the parolee did not have a sex
conviction. Attorney fees and cost awarded by the court.

Grant v. Owens, No.A-05-CA-316LY, (U.S. Dist. Ct.), February 6, 2007.
Suit was filed by Bill Habern & Attorney Richard Gladden (Denton)
United States District Court Western District Austin Division requires due process before denying parental
rights of contact/ visitation to convicted sex offender as a condition of parole.

As a result of the Evans and Graham cases, the Parole Board was required to change their policies and procedures to now provide hearing before the imposition of sex offender conditions on those not convicted of a sex offense.

Articles linked above reprinted from Westlaw with permission of Thomson Reuters. If you wish to check the currency of these cases by using KeyCite on Westlaw, you may do so by visiting Westlaw at www.westlaw.com.