Llano, Tx (March 8) — After nearly 10 hours of deliberations, a Llano County jury has ruled that James Tenny is not guilty of charges that he murdered his wife in 1997. Instead, the jury of seven women and five men found Mr. Tenny guilty only of aggravated assault and sentenced him to time already served.
 
"After nine years, justice is finally served in this case," said Bill Schuurman, a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Austin, who, along with a team of lawyers from V&E;, has represented Mr. Tenny on a pro bono basis for the past five years. "We believed in Jim Tenny and we believed Jim Tenny deserved a fair trial. We believe he has now received that fair trial, and as a result, he is a free man."
 
Mr. Tenny was found guilty in 1999 of deliberately murdering his common-law wife and was sentenced to 65 years in prison. Because Texas does not provide counsel to non-capital criminal defendants filing state habeas appeals, Mr. Tenny represented himself. However, his petitions were denied by Texas trial and appellate courts without even holding a hearing. When Mr. Tenny filed his Federal Habeas petition in 2001, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin appointed Mr. Schuurman, who specializes in patent litigation. Mr. Schuurman had never handled a criminal case before.
 
"Once we researched the facts and interviewed witnesses, it was clear to me that Jim was innocent and had been unfairly convicted," said Mr. Schuurman.
 
Mr. Tenny contended that his wife became violent, poured gasoline on him and tried to kill him by lighting him on fire. He said he killed her in self-defense.
 
Mr. Schuurman and the V&E; legal team argued that Mr. Tenny deserved a new trial because his initial lawyer had been ineffective and because the Texas criminal courts had failed to protect Mr. Tenny's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. In April 2004, Judge Sparks agreed, and ordered that Mr. Tenny be given a new trial. In July 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously agreed, ruling that Mr. Tenny's original lawyer during his first trial failed to interview or call to the stand several credible witnesses who would have confirmed Mr. Tenny's allegations, including two priests and a nun, who said they heard his wife state she planned to kill him.
 
To retry the case, Mr. Schuurman turned to experienced Austin criminal defense attorney David Sheppard to lead the presentation of the case to the jury. Mr. Sheppard has worked with the V&E; team from the start for free. Mr. Tenny's retrial started on February 27 and lasted eight days. On Tuesday, March 7, the jury determined that Mr. Tenny was guilty only of aggravated assault, not murder. Today (March 8), the jury sentenced Mr. Tenny to five years in prison. Because Mr. Tenny had already served six and one-half years while his case was being appealed, he was allowed to go free.
 
"This is justice at last for Jim Tenny, who has been living under this cloud that he's a murderer," said Mr. Schuurman.
 
Mr. Schuurman's legal team included Austin partner David Weaver, and lawyers Avelyn Ross, Tanya DeMent and Lee Legault, as well as legal assistant Zo Anne Mason. Together, the V&E; team has put more than 6,000 hours into working on the case and invested more than $2 million in time and expenses -- all on a pro bono basis. In addition, 3B Studios of Houston supported the defense team by providing free graphic and visual aids in the presentation of evidence to the jury.
 
For more information about the Tenny case, please contact Bill Schuurman at 512.542.5663 or via bschuurman@velaw.com. Or you may contact Mark Curriden at 214.220.7879 or via e-mail at mcurriden@velaw.com.

Vinson & Elkins was established in 1917 and is one of the world's largest international law firms. The firm has more than 700 lawyers practicing in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington D.C. Vinson & Elkins offers a wide range of legal services. Clients include public and private companies, financial institutions, municipalities, governments of sovereign nations, entrepreneurs, families and individuals.