Texas Defender Service (Texas)

Kathryn Kase. Kathryn M. Kase has represented capital clients at trial in the state courts of Texas and New York, and has served as learned counsel in federal court. Her capital defense work has addressed the complexities of intellectual disability, mental illness, and international law. She also consults with and assists trial-level defense teams, with a special focus on teams representing Mexican… See full bio.

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Story: A black man convicted of a double murder in Texas 16 years ago was at least temporarily spared from lethal injection when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review his lawyers' claims that race played an improper role in his sentencing. The court on Thursday halted the execution for Duane Buck, 48, two hours into a six-hour window when he could have been taken to the death chamber. Texas officials, however, did not move forward with the punishment while legal issues were pending. Buck was sentenced to death for the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend and a man in her apartment in July 1995. His attorneys had asked both the Supreme Court and Texas Gov. Rick Perry to halt the execution because of a psychologist's testimony that black people were more likely to commit violence. Buck's guilt is not being questioned, but his lawyers contend the testimony unfairly influenced the jury and Buck should receive a new sentencing hearing. The nation's highest court, without extensive comment, said it would review an appeal related to that testimony. The decision meant Perry did not have to act on a request from Buck's lawyers that the governor use his authority to issue a one-time 30-day reprieve. Buck's case is one of six that then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn — a political ally of Perry who is now a Republican U.S. senator — reviewed in 2000 and said needed to be reopened because of racially charged statements made during the sentencing phase. In the other five cases, new punishment hearings were held and each convict again was sentenced to die.

Evidence of Impact Summary:

The Texas Defender Service has been commended fo the amazing legal representation that it provides to individuals accused of capital crimes and its ability to reduce and reverse death sentences in Texas--a state that uses the death penalty more often than many others.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

According to experts, the major strengths of this organization are its dedicated and knowledgeable staff and leadership and its ability to bring together varying groups.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

Experts have noted various ways in which the Texas Defender Service can improve--some of which include maintaining financial stability, seeking out more productive collaborations, and improving its internal structure.
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Kathryn M. Kase has represented capital clients at trial in the state courts of Texas and New York, and has served as learned counsel in federal court. Her capital defense work has addressed the complexities of intellectual disability, mental illness, and international law. She also consults with and assists trial-level defense teams, with a special focus on teams representing Mexican nationals who are facing the death penalty in the United States. She received a law degree, cum laude, in 1990, from St. Mary's University School of Law, where she was an Articles Editor for the St. Mary's Law Journal. After a period in private practice in San Antonio and later in Albany, New York, she joined Texas Defender Service in 2002. Ms. Kase is a frequent speaker, in Texas and nationally, at CLE seminars devoted to capital defense. She also is a faculty member of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia, and NACDL’s Capital Voir Dire College. In 2002, the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association named her the Outstanding Criminal Practitioner. In May 2005, Ms. Kase was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. She is licensed to practice law in Texas, New York and the District of Columbia, and she is admitted to practice in a number of federal courts, including the Southern District of Texas, the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court.

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