Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers

06/03/2026

Partner Cody Cofer recently sat down with CNN’s Krishna Andavolu outside the Eldon B. Mahon Federal Courthouse in Fort Worth to discuss the Department of Justice’s decisions and strategies in investigating and prosecuting Americans on domestic terrorism charges, including a case our firm is defending in the Fort Worth Division.

Cody spoke about the background of the case, the Government’s approach, and what this prosecution could mean for Americans’ civil liberties going forward.

Federal domestic terrorism charges represent one of the most serious and consequential areas of criminal law today.

Our firm is proud to be on the front lines of that fight.

05/25/2026

Today, James Luster submitted a sworn judicial complaint against Thomas Smith, a candidate for the Court of Criminal Appeals. This is the first judicial complaint James has had to file, and he hopes it will be his last.

The Court is the highest appellate court in Texas for criminal cases – essentially the state’s Supreme Court for criminal cases. Because Mr. Smith is grossly unqualified compared to his opponent, he has resorted to mudslinging. Politics can be tough, and each candidate must decide for him or herself how far they are willing to go to attack their opponent. It is okay for attorneys and judges to campaign hard. It is not okay to violate the standards of our profession. An attorney running for judicial office is required to follow Texas Code of Judicial Conduct. Mr. Smith’s negative campaigning has violated that code.

The complaint itself is attached to this post. It is important to understand that in addition to violating the Code of Judicial Conduct for judicial candidates and the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys, Mr. Smith’s comments show what a poor fit he is for the position he seeks. Everyone charged with a crime in this country deserves an attorney who will fight for them. At best, Mr. Smith has demonstrated that he is skeptical of this right. One half of the attorneys appearing before the Court of Criminal Appeals represent criminal defendants. Mr. Smith has proven he cannot fairly consider their cases, especially if the defendant is accused in a politically charged or sensitive case.

Our attorneys represented defendants charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, incident in Washington, D.C., and the July 4, 2025, Prairieland ICE facility incident in Alvarado, TX. We are proud of our work in both cases. Our passion to represent our clients and protect their rights has nothing to do with political leanings. Amazing, zealous criminal defense attorneys come from all points on the political spectrum. We are blessed to have a firm full of those types of attorneys at Cofer Luster Law Firm.

05/04/2026

James is giving our team a refresher on Family Violence law. A substantial part of Cofer Luster’s caseload is made of family violence/domestic violence cases. All of our attorneys have successfully prosecuted and defended family violence cases. Our lawyers have handled thousands of family violence cases.

03/30/2026

Still, the trial underscored how easy the law makes it for prosecutors to create a conspiracy, Cofer said.

“People should be scared,” he said.

“There is an online culture, Reddit culture, that these government officials just absolutely know nothing about and only have contact with it through the investigation of crimes. And so when you only have contact with these cultural characteristics through criminal investigation, you just naturally have this sample bias of ‘oh, this is indicative of criminal conduct.’”

Experts say verdict gives Trump officials scope to crack down on leftwing views using spurious ‘terrorism’ label

03/13/2026

“The appearance of my review in the trial is a brazen attempt at conjuring “guilt by literature” — just one of the tactics prosecutors have used to criminalize speech and use First Amendment-protected speech as a legal weapon against the Trump administration’s political enemies.”

https://theintercept.com/2026/03/13/movie-review-antifa-prairieland-trial/

02/20/2026

“‘They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think. It’s a small movement,’ Trump said, referring to the majority of justices who struck his tariff policy down.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/-barrett-gorsuch-trump-disloyalty/

President Trump said Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett’s and Neil Gorsuch’s decisions to rule against his administration’s tariff policies are “an embarrassment to their families.”&nbs…

02/18/2026

“Lawyers for the nine defendants unanimously agreed they did not think a mistrial was necessary, questioning whether jurors had even seen Clayton’s shirt and saying any potential bias could be rooted out during jury selection by questioning the jurors. Shawn Smith, the lead federal prosecutor in the case, did not take a position, simply saying he had not seen a similar situation before.”

Lawyer for defendants accused of terrorism at ICE protest decried by Trump appointee over shirt’s potential for ‘bias’

02/07/2026

Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys! If you haven't already, register for the Jazz, Justice & the Federal System of Federal Law Gumbo in New Orleans.
Dates: 02/19/2026 - 02/20/2026
You will see Cody’s handsome face up there presenting on GUNS - A Lot of Questions About the Second Amendment and Section 922(g)(1).

Register Here: https://www.tcdla.com/TCDLA/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=A021926F&_zs=b6lHp&_zl=ORFd3

01/23/2026

“Willett, who is running for the 323rd District Court seat, which hears child welfare and juvenile delinquency cases, is hoping to unseat Judge Alex Kim, a Republican and the chair of the Tarrant County Juvenile Board.”

https://amp.star-telegram.com/news/local/article314405847.html

01/08/2026

“Texas is now the first state in the U.S. to eliminate American Bar Association oversight of its law schools, ending the state's 42-year-long reliance on the national organization.”

The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday finalized a tentative opinion issued in September that no longer requires soon-to-be lawyers to attend a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. The power to approve those law schools now rests with the state's highest civil court.