Lawyer David Houston Secrets to Legal Success

Cintya    February 11, 2023    Comment   

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - The large desk sits empty now, but it could barely contain the giant personality of the man who sat behind it. Criminal Defense Attorney David Houston used to hold court in his office, many times talking about the merits of the latest case he was about to defend.

“But I tell you when you heard Dave Houston; if your son or daughter or family member was in trouble and someone said you need to find a good lawyer, ” says Scott Freeman, Senior Judge with Washoe District Court.

Judge Freeman says his relationship with Houston started back in the late seventies. The now judge was a then bar manager at the Mt. Rose Ski Resort. Houston was a ski instructor and told Freeman to look him up once Freeman graduated from law school.

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“Dave was a very, very good teacher. He again was very patient and very result oriented, ” says Judge Freeman. Judge Freeman would eventually start his own practice.

Examples include defending children in school, one who brought a gun and fired it, the other a knife and threatened students with it. A police officer accused of telling a teenage girl to disrobe in the back of his vehicle in order to get out of a sobriety test. That officer was acquitted. He defended the husband of a Nevada State Treasurer accused of injecting her with Succinylcholine.

“He was like a dog with a bone, ” says Freeman. And he adds, “And sometimes he invented the bone. And he would go after it after he invented it……he was the most brilliant lawyer I have ever seen.”

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Houston went to Florida to represent former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan who sued Gawker, a blog, which revealed a sex tape of Hogan. A jury awarded Hogan and in part Houston $140, 000, 000 in damages.

The very nature of the cases could have painted Houston in a bad light considering what his clients were accused of. But like many criminal defense attorneys he wanted to make sure his clients were treated fairly.

“He was the top man, the top dog among Reno criminal defense attorneys, ” says Martin Wiener, another other local criminal defense attorney. “And I think an intelligent judge would think wow this will be interesting I’ve got David Houston in my court representing a client, ” says Wiener.

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In the late 90s Houston would host “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” along with Freeman--a half hour show where the two interviewed local and national figures. Some were infamous like brothel owner Dennis Hoff. Some guests had unique perspectives like psychologist Dean Hinitz. They interviewed Nevada Governors, and federal agents.

His friends and colleagues say he died suddenly and would have appeared in court as of yesterday--and that is how he would have wanted it.Reno criminal defense attorney DavidHouston, whorepresented high profile defendants in Reno and nationally, including professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, is dead. He was 69.

Houston died on Saturday following complications from a surgery he had around Thanksgiving, according to his friend and law partner Ken Lyon.

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I think it would be appropriate to say he has touched the lives of the people of the community, Lyon said when reached on Monday.He was a force in a legal community. He was my mentor.

He was the attorney for Richie West, a Jones West Ford businessman who pled guilty for his involvement in anopioid pill mill case in 2016.He also represented peoplewho lost their homes in the Little Valley Fireagainst theNevada Divisionof Forestry.

In perhaps his most notable case, Houston represented Terry Bollea, professionally known as the wrestler Hulk Hogan, in a successful jury settlement of more than $100 million againstGawker Media in 2016. The case startedafter the website published one ofBollea's sex tapes against his will.

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In a 2016 interview with the Reno Gazette Journal, Houston pushed back against arguments that the settlement against Gawker was a threat to the First Amendment.

And to those who argue this is a First Amendment issue regardless, this doesn’t jeopardize the First Amendment, he said.It carves out a very clear rule, and the rule is you do not publish a sex video that was taken without the knowledge and or consent of the participants and disseminate it without their approval.How does a bright-line rule like that impact or affect the First Amendment?

As for why he decided to settle in the Reno area: Because I love Lake Tahoe. Why wouldn’t anybody? I can’t think of a better place to live and raise a family. It’s a place that I love and call home. I wouldn’t be happy anywhere else.

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Washoe County District Attorney ChrisHicks has been on opposing sides of the courtroom from Houston, including on the murder trial ofChaz Higgs. Higgs was found guilty in 2007 of first degree murder for killing his wife, former state controller Kathy Augustine.

“For many years, Dave and I were fierce competitors in the courtroom but we were friends outside of it, Hicks said.He was an incredible advocate for his clients with a sound understanding and presentation of the law. He will be missed greatly.

You could talk to any attorney and they would say Dave was one of the most outstanding legal minds, Lyons said. If law enforcement or judges are in trouble they went to Dave.

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Siobhan McAndrew tells stories about the people of Northern Nevada and covers education in Washoe County. Read her journalism right here. Consider supporting her work by subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal.