Harris County, Texas has sent more people to death row than any other county in the United States and Jerry Guerinot (pictured) was defense counsel for twenty-one of them. His death-sentenced clients included two who were juveniles at the time of the crime and another who was later freed after prosecutors dropped charges against him. Labeled by some as “the worst lawyer in the United States,” in forty years of practice, none of Guerinot’s capital murder clients was acquitted. Now, after decades of criticism, Guerinot says he will no longer take capital cases. Guerinot asserts that his record is a by-product of the cases he was assigned: “My theory is if they are the sorriest of the worst or the very worst, I got ‘em. Somebody’s got to defend — ‘defend’ is the wrong word — represent these people.” Other attorneys, however, say he did not adequately represent his clients. “I wouldn’t be here if I had better counse,” Linda Carty, a British national who was one of Guerinot clients, said. “I met this guy for less than 15 minutes. Once.” Although investigative assistance was available from the British consulate, Guerinot never sought it, she says. Guerinot also served as top assistant to the lead attorney for Duane Buck, whose appeal will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this fall based upon defense counsel’s use of a psychologist who told Buck’s sentencing jury that he was more likely to pose a future danger to society because he is Black. Kathryn Kase, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, said defense counsel sat silent as their witness provided racially-biased testimony against their client and “never objected to the prosecution’s questions or arguments … that skin color, race, makes someone more likely to be dangerous in the future.” Jim Marcus, co-director of the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas, noted that Guerinot had four separate clients sentenced to death in a seven-month period in 1996. “It is unthinkable that a defense attorney would try four separate death penalty cases to verdict in the space of seven months,” he said. Veteran capital defense lawyer and University of Houston law professor David Dow told the New York Times in 2010 that the large number of death sentences imposed on Guerinot’s clients reflected a failure to conduct simple investigations. “He doesn’t even pick the low-hanging fruit which is hitting him in the head as he’s walking under the tree,” Dow said. Guerinot said, “I’m there to ensure they get a fair shake. And, by God, there ain’t one of them that didn’t.”
(M. Graczyk, “Texas Lawyer Who Lost All Death Penalty Cases Says He’s Done,” Associated Press, August 13, 2016; A. Liptak, “A Lawyer Known Best for Losing Capital Cases,” New York Times, May 17, 2010; Photo by M. Graczyk, Associated Press.) See Representation.
