CCA: Finally, A Candidate! Susan Strawn Files For Court Of Criminal Appeals, Place 3

We at Capitol Annex are very excited that Susan Strawn, a native of Houston, has filed for Place 3 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Stawn is a 16-year public servant serving the federal government in Washington, Denver, the Balkans, and West Africa.

Here is a tidbit of information on the woman who will hopefully be the first Democratic Court of Criminal Appeals Justice in a generation we’ve culled from a few sources:

In 1988-89, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. After a year of teaching at the University of Miami School of Law, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1990. For twelve years she litigated cases on behalf of the United States and its agencies in both federal district courts and courts of appeals. Specializing in consumer fraud and white-collar crime, Ms. Strawn prosecuted criminal and civil actions against food and drug manufacturers for the sale of adulterated and misbranded products, and against individuals and companies engaged in fraud and deceptive trade practices. She also defended the U.S. government, its agencies and officials in actions brought against them, primarily in the area of First Amendment and Administrative Procedures Act challenges. From 1997-1999, Strawn served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Denver, Colorado, where she handled complex economic crimes, including mail and wire fraud and money laundering.

During her litigation career, Strawn received nine awards from the Department of Justice, including two Special Commendation Awards, four Special Achievement Awards and three award promotions.

In 2002, Ms. Strawn was selected to be the U.S. Department of Justice Resident Legal Advisor in post-conflict Kosovo. In that capacity, she was the lead on-the-ground coordinator and implementer of the U.S. government’s judicial and prosecutorial training and reform efforts. She also worked as the Justice liaison to U.S. military intelligence and to a special NATO and international police task force to target ethnic extremism, terrorism, organized crime, corruption, and money laundering. She received the United Nations Peacekeeping medal for her work with the United Nations Civilian Police.

In 2004, she joined the U.S. Department of the Treasury as the Resident Advisor to West Africa for Financial Crimes Enforcement. She spent two years based in Senegal, working to implement and enforce anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and counter-terrorist financing laws in the fifteen countries of the Economic Community of West African States.

Ms. Strawn returned to Texas in November 2006. She is now a consultant and attorney in private practice. She has been a guest lecturer at the University of Houston Law Center and will teach there as an adjunct professor in the Spring 2008 semester.

That resume is 10 times more impressive that that of any sitting Court of Criminal Appeals member. We at Capitol Annex are very excited about this candidate!

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