St. Mary’s University School of Law honored Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Barbara Parker Hervey and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul as the 2009 St. Mary’s Distinguished Law Graduates at an awards dinner Friday, Oct. 23 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel, 402 W. Market Street. The annual award is given to two individuals with both outstanding achievements in the legal profession and dedicated service to St. Mary’s School of Law.

“The ability to distinguish themselves in the legal field as well as provide service to their communities has made St. Mary’s School of Law proud of both Judge Barbara Hervey and Congressman Michael McCaul throughout their notable careers,” said Charles E. Cantu, St. Mary’s School of Law Dean. “They join past honorees as some of our brightest graduates who continue to bring respect and esteem to our alma mater.”

Hervey, a New Jersey native, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Juris Doctorate from St. Mary’s in 1979.  Before being elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in November 2000, she spent 16 years as Assistant Criminal District Attorney in the appellate section of the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and had previously worked in private practice with the Law Office of M.M. Pena Jr. in San Antonio.

Hervey is an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law, past president of the St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association, former member of the St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees and a member of the State Bar of Texas, Bexar County Women’s Bar Association and the Bexar County Republican Women. She served on the Governor’s Ad Hoc Committee to rewrite the Texas code of criminal procedure.

A fourth generation Texan, McCaul, is currently in his third term representing Texas’ 10th District, which serves eight counties from Austin to the Houston suburbs. He is the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee’s Intelligence Subcommittee and also serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and as an Assistant Whip for the 111th Congress.

Before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, McCaul served as Chief of Counter Terrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Texas, as Texas Deputy Attorney General under current U.S. Senator John Cornyn, and served as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. He earned his undergraduate degree from Trinity University and graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1987.

The Distinguished Law Graduate Award Dinner will be hosted by St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association President Jeff Davis and Cantú. Last year’s winners were Houston attorney Paul R. Vahldiek, Jr. and Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Sandee Bryan Marion. Other past winners include Justice Paul W. Green, Judge Carol R. Haberman Knight-Sheen, U.S. Representative Charles A. Gonzalez, Senator John Cornyn, Paul E. Casseb, Jack Paul Leon, Frank Herrera and U.S. Representative Henry B. Gonzalez.

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