Wishart, Robert J.

Randy Wilson was born in 1947 in Denton, Texas to Don R. Wilson Jr. and Betty Gaye Wilson. His early years were spent in Denton, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida and Dothan, Alabama. In 1953 his family moved to Abilene, Texas.

Randy's family history is quite interesting, as his family was a pioneer in Callahan County, Texas. The family was heavily involved in ranching in Callahan County. His ranching background carried into his adult life, as he managed family ranching interests during his adult life.

He attended school in Abilene, Texas and was actively involved in sports. At Abilene High School, Randy lettered two years in football and three years in baseball. Upon graduation from high school, he attended Baylor University, where he met his wife, Jo Ann Robbins. Randy and Jo Ann were married in 1966 and have two children, Tami and Robbie, and two grand children.

Not one to shun responsibility, Randy worked his way through undergraduate school and law school holding as many as three jobs at a time, plus attending school. Upon graduation from Baylor Law School, he went to work for Robinson, Wilson & Holloway in Abilene, Texas (a general practice firm). While working for this firm, he began a trial practice, trying numerous civil and criminal jury trials each year. In 1971, he was offered a job as s trial attorney with Robert W. Hartson, P.C. (a personal injury firm) in Dallas, Texas. Randy and Jo Ann moved to Dallas where he continued his trial practice. In 1973, he accepted a position as a trial attorney with Downman, Jones & Schecter (an admiralty and personal injury firm) with offices in Houston, Galveston & Kansas City, Missouri). He continued his trial work there until late 1975, when he returned to Abilene, Texas and became a sole practitioner. Since 1975, Randy has been a sole practitioner in Abilene, Texas handling an array of civil and criminal cases.

In Randy's practice in Abilene, he has performed criminal defense trial work, civil litigation representing financial institutions from both the plaintiff and defense side, referral litigation from other firms, creditor's rights trial work in civil and bankruptcy courts throughout the State of Texas and numerous First Amendment cases in Federal and State Courts in Texas. Randy has defended eight capital murder cases, (none of which resulted in the assessment of the death penalty), uncountable numbers of felonies and misdemeanors ranging from murder to sexual assault to theft, to white-collar crimes, to almost every misdemeanor contained within the Texas Penal Code. His practice also has included several large and complex bankruptcy cases from the creditor's side, defense of DTPA litigation, complex commercial litigation involving financial institutions, trials of complex divorce cases, trials of contested child custody cases, as well as the day to day handling of the simple as well as complex legal issues of his clients. Over the past several years, Randy has become very active in the domestic relations field, trying child support enforcement, child custody, and divorce cases. Since 1993, Randy has been a Volunteer Prosecutor for the Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Texas prosecuting attorneys for ethical violations in Texas.

While in Abilene, Randy's activities in the community have indicated a strong desire to give back to the community. He has been active in numerous charitable activities in his community, as well as personally funding and hosting a weekly radio show on KKHR called "You and the Law". The radio show allows people to get free legal advice, by calling in during the show. In addition the radio show will have guests such as Justices of the Court of Criminal Appeals; Congressman Charles Stenholm is a weekly guest on the show, Judges from the area, various political figures that deal with the law as well as minority civil leaders. Randy is also a former professor at McMurry University in the business department, teaching business law. He has testified before the Texas Legislature on several occasions concerning various issues ranging from indigent defense to juvenile law to capital punishment and criminal procedure.  Randy has been actively involved in the activities of his church, the First Central Presyterian Curch of Abilene.

Randy is also a frequent speaker at Criminal Defense Skills Courses for attorneys each year. He has spoken at numerous seminars for attorneys over the years. In addition, he has had various articles published concerning defense of criminal cases. He is, and has been for many years, an active faculty member of the Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute in Huntsville, Texas. As chairperson of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Institute, he directs various educational programs for attorneys, judges and the general public. His tenure as an officer of the Criminal Justice Section of the State Bar of Texas, has resulted in grants to associations for the promotion of excellence in jurisprudence as well as the education of the general public. Randy also is on the Mentoring Committee which helps attorneys who have little or no experience in handling criminal cases in Texas.  He also is the Course Director for the Cross Examination Seminar for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association has been a major contributor to Randy's development as an attorney. He was a Charter Member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association, and is a member of the Board of Directors, member of the Executive Committee, and has served as officer in various offices of the state-wide agency, and is a Past President.

Randy strives to keep abreast of the law by averaging over 50 hours per year in Continuing Legal Education, and has been a member of the College of the State Bar since 1995.

The courtroom has been Randy's "home field" for many years. Randy's trial experience extends throughout the State of Texas both in State and Federal Court. His passion has always been the courtroom and the "heat of battle".