Bob Mabry

Bob Mabry grew up near the Gulf Coast in southeast Harris County in Deer Park, Texas. His mother and her sister had formerly lived in Victoria. Bob's mother was a history and English teacher, and many of his kinfolk are teachers. His father, who grew up in San Antonio, had his career at an oil refinery where he loaded tank cars and trucks and was a maintenance electrician. His father's father wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer, but Bob's grandmother wouldn't let him.

Bob got a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He taught history and English and coached speech at St. Thomas High School in Houston. At South Texas College of Law—Houston, he was on Law Review, an academic honor. He worked his way through law school as a clerk in a law office.

He practiced law for a number of years in small law firms before working for State Counsel for Offenders, the Texas prison system public defender office. After being a trial lawyer for prisoners accused of felonies, he rose to be the chief of the section of appeals and of sexually violent predator civil commitment defense.

After that, he was a felony prosecutor in Bay City, Texas, the county seat of Matagorda County, about 70 miles east of Victoria. He practiced appellate and criminal trial law north of Houston for many years. Much of his work there was representing people whom judges had appointed him to defend. Bob had been on the board of the Montgomery County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in Conroe and has served on the Indigent Defense Committee of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association for years.

He has appeared in state courts in huge cities and tiny country towns in many parts of Texas. Bob has defended people accused of a wide range of crimes, from speeding to drug distribution to rape and murder.

Bob believes passionately that no matter how unpleasant the accusation is, or how unpopular a criminal suspect is, each person deserves to be treated fairly and justly by law enforcement and the courts. Bob is proud of the relief that he has gotten for the many clients that he has had over the years, relief that includes dismissals and acquittals. Bob’s past work for public defense offices and as a prosecutor has always involved mentoring and training young lawyers. He has taught other lawyers how to avoid being ineffective in assisting their clients. He has won awards for legal blog posts and has been featured in the Texas Bar Journal. He works hard to make the law clear to clients and their friends and families. He wants to empower his clients to make good choices. He is familiar with the challenges that immigration status can cause in dealing with a criminal charge.

His son is an officer in the Texas National Guard.

Bob hopes that working at Crossroads Defenders will be the capstone of his long career of legal counsel and advocacy. He is grateful for the opportunity to serve.