ERIC J. DAVIS

With over three decades of courtroom experience, Eric J. Davis has developed a reputation and career defined by principled advocacy and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding the liberties of those facing intense legal scrutiny and high-stakes prosecutions.  Having tried over 100 cases ranging from Capital Murder and other homicides, to complex multiple defendant federal fraud cases, to federal drug conspiracies, to misdemeanors; Mr. Davis brings his hard-earned experience to defending his clients.  He has obtained acquittals in multiple federal medicare fraud cases, multiple murder cases, multiple sexual assault offenses and many other types of cases by combining his experience with hard work.  He has also obtained dismissals in murder cases, sexual assault cases and various other types of cases over the years.  He considers every client’s life and freedom a profound responsibility and an honor to defend.

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Since 1994, Mr. Davis has built a distinguished legal career.  From 2011 to 2026, Mr. Davis worked with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office in  Houston, Texas.  He helped establish the office and was the office's first Trial Bureau Chief.  In this leadership role, he managed over 80 attorneys and 16 investigators while overseeing the Felony and Misdemeanor Divisions and directing daily operations, including training.  Under his leadership, lawyers in the Felony Trial Division of the Harris County Public Defender's Office outperformed private court appointed lawyers and private retained lawyers (lawyers people hired) in dismissals and acquittals.  This was something rarely, if ever, done by public defender's offices.  In addition to his executive duties, Mr. Davis remained an active trial lawyer, frequently serving as lead counsel in multiple jury trials each year.  He defended multiple cases that received national media attention.  Cases he handled were featured on 48 hours, in the New York Post and other major news outlets.

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Before his time in public service, he led the three lawyer firm Davis & Associates, PLLC, in Houston, Texas.  While in private practice, Mr. Davis defended people accused of crimes for over a decade.  He also served his community by taking on pro bono assignments and cases of interest to the public.  In 2003, his commitment to insuring judicial integrity was honored by the Texas State Legislature.  Serving pro bono as Special Counsel to the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct, he successfully prosecuted a case that resulted in the permanent removal of an abusive judge from office. This high-profile achievement was featured extensively in major news media outlets.  Mr. Davis' history of reform and justice includes the 2006 “Unsung Hero Award” and being named “Man of the Year” by the Houston Business and Professional Women's Association. Also in 2006, Mr. Davise gained national attention for his work exonerating a man who had spent 18 years wrongfully imprisoned. Through sheer persistence, Mr. Davis located DNA evidence long thought lost, proving his client’s innocence and later securing over $450,000 in compensation for his client.  This client's case was featured in multiple front page stories in the Houston Chronicle and on television news programs around the state.  The case is also featured on the sites of several organizations studying exonerations.

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In 2007, Mr. Davis notably defended a double homicide case where the prosecution claimed an acquittal was "impossible."  He and his client rejected a 40-year plea offer and secured a “not guilty” verdict at trial.  In 2009, he successfully countered  bias in jury selection during a different murder trial, eventually obtaining an acquittal from a second jury after the prosecution's strikes were found improperly motivated by race with the initial jury.  This landmark defense was a front-page story in the Houston Chronicle.  In 2011, he secured back-to-back acquittals for clients in federal Medicare fraud conspiracies, defeating a specialized national task force that rarely lost cases.  Both of his clients went completely free after facing the full weight of the federal government.  A task force prosecutor confided in him that they quietly referred to him as “Taskforce Kryptonite.”

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He continues his leadership today on the boards of both the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Trial Lawyers College.