David A. Sheppard has been practicing criminal law for 30 years, first as a felony prosecutor and then in private practice. His practice is restricted to the defense of criminal cases in state and federal court.
He is Board Certified in Criminal Law and for 18 years was Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas Law School, serving as a Supervising Attorney in the Law School’s Criminal Defense Clinic. Beginning in August 2003, he became a co-director of the University of Texas Actual Innocence Clinic.
He is a past president of the Central Texas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Travis County Bar Association Criminal Law and Procedure Section and the Austin Inn of Court. He was a founding member of the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and has been a Director and Chair of the Legislative Committee of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubble, is listed in Best Lawyers in America, and is a frequent speaker before lawyers and judges.
He represented Richard Danzinger in his successful effort to obtain release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice upon proof he was actually innocent of the offense for which he was serving a lengthy prison sentence.