Attorney: Kyle R. Sampson

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Kyle R. Sampson is a former prosecutor and chief of the Legal Assistance Office at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, for which he was awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal. A 1995 graduate of the Texas Tech School of Law in Lubbock, Texas, he is licensed to practice law in Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where he was a distinguished student, a squadron commander in the Corps of Cadets, and a member of the Ross Volunteer Company, which serves as the Honor Guard for the Governor of Texas. He is admitted to practice in Texas, as well as the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Texas, and all United States courts-martial.

Mr. Sampson represents clients at trial and on appeal in state, federal, and military courts, as well as before professional licensing boards. He also represents individuals and corporate clients as witnessess, suspects, or targets in grand jury investigations. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association; and is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the American Association for Justice; Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Houston Bar Association; and Houston Young Lawyers Association. He joined our firm in 2000, after serving as a Marine Corps prosecutor, trying major cases such as rape, drug importation, and counterfeiting. Mr. Sampson has been a shareholder since 2007 and is board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Mr. Sampson has obtained acquittals by juries for several clients at trial against charges of driving while intoxicated. He has also successfully litigated motions to suppress evidence, resulting in the dismissal of criminal charges. Mr. Sampson served as lead counsel in the re-trial of a rape case, where the client was acquitted after receiving a prison sentence when represented by a different counsel at the first trial. Mr. Sampson also served as co-counsel with Mr. Zimmermann in a two-and-a-half-week federal trial where the client was acquitted in 45 minutes of conspiring to steal government property worth more than seven million dollars. Mr. Sampson was co-counsel with Mr. Zimmermann in the homicide prosecution of a Marine accused of killing an Iraqi prisoner who was a high ranking official of Saddam Hussein's party. All charges were dismissed after a six day Article 32 preliminary hearing. Mr. Sampson was lead counsel in a case where the jury acquitted a truck driver of failure to stop and render aid after a fatal accident when a car struck the front of his truck.  Mr. Sampson was lead counsel in a family violence case where a mother was acquitted of assaulting her 16-year-old honor student daughter. Mr. Sampson was co-counsel with Mr. Zimmermann in the acquittal of an Army surgeon charged with nineteen specifications of distribution of controlled substances, disobeying orders, false statement, and obstruction of justice. He also served as co-counsel in the trial of an Army Special Forces officer, who was acquitted of charges of rape and indecent acts. Mr. Sampson served as lead counsel in the trial of a Marine recruiter acquitted of disobeying a direct order, dereliction of duty, and making a false offical statement.

Mr. Sampson was co-counsel with Mr. Zimmermann and Ms. Zimmermann representing LCpl Stephen Tatum, USMC, who originally was charged with the murder of Iraqi civilians during a counter-attack in response to an ambush in Haditha, Iraq.Click here for a description of the Article 32 Investigation hearing featured in the Texas Lawyer. All charges were dismissed with prejudice on the first day of trial in this case that had drawn international media attention.

Mr. Sampson is co-counsel in the pending appeal of an Army officer convicted of murder of an enemy insurgent in Iraq.

Mr. Sampson was a captain in the Marine Corps Reserve, and served as an appellate defense counsel in Washington, D.C. from 2000-2003 after fulfilling his active duty obligation. Mr. Sampson was recognized every year from 2004 to 2009 by Law & Politics as a Rising Star (one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state -- those who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less), published in Super Lawyers Magazine. Mr. Sampson is married and has three children.

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