# Bennett & Bennett

> Houston criminal-appeals and criminal-defense law firm. Mark W. Bennett is board certified in Criminal Law and Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Direct appeals, petitions for discretionary review, and habeas corpus in every Texas court of appeals and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; trial defense in state and federal court.

Mark W. Bennett has practiced criminal defense for more than thirty years. Fewer than fifty criminal-defense lawyers in Texas hold both the Criminal Law and the Criminal Appellate Law board certifications. Jennifer Bennett has practiced criminal defense for more than twenty-five years.

From October 2023 through September 2026, Mark W. Bennett argued 5 of the 51 criminal cases the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals heard argument in; no other defense lawyer argued more than 3. In nine recent cases before the Court of Criminal Appeals, Bennett & Bennett won on eight different legal issues. Mark W. Bennett has obtained habeas corpus relief for 10 clients, among them Kerry Max Cook.

Clients are represented statewide from the Houston office.

## Appeals and Post-Conviction

- [Texas Criminal Appeals](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer): Direct appeals, petitions for discretionary review, and appellate practice in all fourteen Texas courts of appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals
- [Houston Criminal Appeals](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/houston): Appeals in the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals
- [Texas Post-Conviction and Habeas Corpus](https://bennettandbennett.com/habeas): Article 11.07 and 11.072 applications, ineffective assistance of counsel, actual innocence
- [Texas Court of Criminal Appeals](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/court-of-criminal-appeals): The court, its docket, and Bennett & Bennett's pending and granted petitions
- [Court of Criminal Appeals Record](https://bennettandbennett.com/cca-record): Mark W. Bennett's record in the Court of Criminal Appeals
- [Before You Hire a Criminal Appellate Lawyer](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/before-you-hire): How to check any Texas appellate lawyer's record on public court websites, and Mark W. Bennett's own numbers
- [When Not to Hire Us](https://bennettandbennett.com/when-not-to-hire-us)

## Notable Cases

- [Ex parte Lo](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases/ex-parte-lo): The Court of Criminal Appeals held Texas Penal Code section 33.021(b) facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment. See also [Houston Press](https://www.houstonpress.com/news/meet-some-online-perverts-who-got-a-reprieve-7436015), [Eric Goldman / Santa Clara Law](https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/11/sexting-a-minor-isnt-a-crime-in-texas.htm), [TDCAA Journal](https://www.tdcaa.com/journal/online-solicitation-takes-heat-from-the-high-court-5/), [Houston Law Review](https://houstonlawreview.org/article/77701-the-problems-of-overbreadth-and-what-to-do-about-them)
- [Ex parte Cook](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases/ex-parte-cook): The Court of Criminal Appeals found Kerry Max Cook actually innocent of a 1977 murder, after 21 years of wrongful imprisonment. See also [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Max_Cook), [Texas Monthly](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/kerry-max-cook-declared-innocent/), [Texas Monthly (2016)](https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/the-trouble-with-innocence/), [KLTV](https://www.kltv.com/story/32354877/arguments-end-judge-to-deliberate-in-kerry-max-cook-exoneration-trial/)
- [Ex parte Estevez](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases/ex-parte-estevez): The Court of Criminal Appeals held that a DWI prosecution after contempt for the same conduct violated double jeopardy
- [Owens v. State](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases/owens-v-state): The Court of Criminal Appeals held Texas Penal Code section 42.07(a)(7) unconstitutional as applied to nonthreatening text messages
- [State v. Cuarenta](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases/state-v-cuarenta): The Court of Criminal Appeals held the State could not appeal a grant of deferred disposition on a Class C misdemeanor
- [All cases](https://bennettandbennett.com/cases)

## Courts of Appeals

- [Houston (First and Fourteenth Courts)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/houston)
- [Fort Worth (Second Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/fort-worth)
- [Austin (Third Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/austin)
- [San Antonio (Fourth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/san-antonio)
- [Dallas (Fifth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/dallas)
- [Texarkana (Sixth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/texarkana)
- [Amarillo (Seventh Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/amarillo)
- [El Paso (Eighth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/el-paso)
- [Beaumont (Ninth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/beaumont)
- [Waco (Tenth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/waco)
- [Eastland (Eleventh Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/eastland)
- [Tyler (Twelfth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/tyler)
- [Corpus Christi (Thirteenth Court)](https://bennettandbennett.com/texas-criminal-appeal-lawyer/corpus-christi)

## Trial Defense

- [Criminal Defense](https://bennettandbennett.com/criminal-defense): State criminal defense in Houston and Harris County
- [Federal Crimes](https://bennettandbennett.com/federal-crimes): Federal criminal defense at trial and on appeal
- [Family Violence Defense](https://bennettandbennett.com/criminal-defense/family-violence)
- [Sex Crimes Defense](https://bennettandbennett.com/criminal-defense/sex-crimes)
- [Expunction](https://bennettandbennett.com/criminal-defense/expunction-texas): Clearing arrest records in Texas
- [Nondisclosure](https://bennettandbennett.com/criminal-defense/nondisclosure): Sealing criminal records after deferred adjudication or probation

## The Firm

- [Mark W. Bennett](https://bennettandbennett.com/our-firm/mark-bennett): Board certified in Criminal Law and Criminal Appellate Law; State Bar of Texas No. 00792970
- [Jennifer Bennett](https://bennettandbennett.com/our-firm/jennifer-bennett)
- [Contact](https://bennettandbennett.com/contact): 713-224-1747 / info@bennettandbennett.com / 917 Franklin Street, Fourth Floor, Houston, Texas 77002