Texas Indigent Defense Commission

Members

Office	Office Holder	Represents / Term Ends
Chair	The Honorable Missy Medary	State District Judge, Nueces County, 12-31-2028
Vice Chair	James "Jim" Bethke	Director of a Managed Assigned Counsel Program, 02-01-2026
Ex Officio Member(s)	The Honorable James D. "Jimmy" Blacklock	Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court
	The Honorable Emily Miskel	Chief Justice, Fifth Appellate District
	Rep. Joe Moody	State Representative
	Position Open	State Senator
	The Honorable David J. Schenck	Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
	Rep. John T. Smithee	Texas House of Representatives Member
Governor's Appointment(s)	Mr. Alex Bunin	Houston, Chief Public Defender, Harris County Public Defender Office, 02-01-2025
	Mr. Jay Cohen	Houston, Attorney, Blass Law PPLC, 02-01-2025
	Valerie Covey	Williamson County Commissioner Precinct 3, 02-01-2028
	The Honorable Richard A. Evans	Bandera County Judge, 02-01-2026
	The Honorable Missy Medary
	J.R. Woolley	Justice of the Peace, 02-01-2025

Notes

The 77th Texas Legislature, through the passage of the Fair Defense Act, established the blueprint for
meaningful interaction between State and local government through the creation of the first state body to
administer statewide appropriations and policies. In exchange for State fiscal assistance, the local judiciary
is required to report its plan for delivering indigent defense services. The Commission publishes these local
plans on its website for all to view. The law also requires local county auditors to annually report county
expenditures pertaining to criminal indigent defense services. The county expenditure reports are also
published on the Commission website.
Renamed the Texas Indigent Defense Commission effective September 1, 2011.