ABOUT ANGELA 

Why choose Angela Moore to represent you?

For more than 38 years, I have practiced criminal law from every side of the courtroom: as a prosecutor, as a public defender, and at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the State’s highest criminal court. Today I bring that experience to a focused private practice devoted to criminal appeals, post-conviction writs of habeas corpus, and criminal defense in Texas state and federal courts. I am Board Certified in both Criminal Law and Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.



Before opening my own practice, I served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, an Assistant Criminal District Attorney, and an Assistant Kendall County Attorney. I later served as Chief Appellate Public Defender for Bexar County and as a public defender in Dallas County. Knowing how prosecutors build a case, and how appellate judges review one, allows me to find the errors that matter and present them in the way courts are most likely to act on.

Appellate Results

As Chief Appellate Public Defender, I was in charge of the briefing, along with one of my employee assistants in Abdygapparova v. State, 243 S.W.3d 191 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2007, pet. ref’d). The Fourth Court of Appeals reversed a capital murder conviction after the record showed the trial judge and the prosecutor exchanging private notes during jury selection. The court held that the denial of an impartial judge is structural error that requires a new trial without any showing of harm.

In Garretson v. State, Nos. 14-18-00918-CR & 14-18-00919-CR (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2020) (mem. op.), the court agreed that a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum could be challenged in an appeal from a probation revocation, a question of first impression for that court. It vacated both of my client’s convictions and returned him to his position before an invalid plea bargain.

I have also handled appeals and writs in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ( approx. 100 briefs and 25 oral arguments before the court) and four petitions for certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter, but these demonstrate the gravity of cases I handle and my successes in cases of the utmost seriousness.

Leadership and Teaching

I have been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law, where I helped train the next generation of lawyers. I designed the curriculum for Wrongful Convictions, and taught the course for several years, and taught legal research and writing.  I have served as President of the William Sessions Inn of Court, as Chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the San Antonio Bar Association, and as a member of a disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Texas. I served also as a writer and grader for the Criminal Law Specialization exam for the State Bar of Texas. I am a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.



I am admitted to practice in all Texas state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Western District of Texas, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

My Approach

I run a small boutique practice by design. Because I am selective about the cases I accept, every client receives my personal attention, from the first review of the record to the final brief. I do not use law clerks or associates to write my briefs, petitions, or writs, or any work. I believe in my clients, and I believe the Constitution’s protections matter most when the government oversteps. When a conviction rests on an unfair trial, an illegal sentence, or unreliable evidence, I will find the error and fight to correct it.



Contact us for more information and our first consultation (one hour) is without charge.