First Assistant District Attorney, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Conroe Texas
Mike Holley is the First Assistant District Attorney at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Conroe, Texas. Mike a graduate of Abilene Christian University where he graduated summa cum laude. Mike received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law where he also graduated summa cum laude, and he received his L.L.M. from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
As First Assistant, Mike is responsible for the day-to-day management of the office, supervision, and training of employees, trying cases, and the preparation of the annual office budget.
Before joining the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Mike served in the United States Army. Mike’s Army career began as a Military Police Officer before The Army sent him to law school. Mike would go on to serve as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney in the Army and, in 2004, would serve as the Chief Prosecutor in the Abu Ghraib Detainee Abuse cases in Baghdad, Iraq.
Mike left the Army as a Major after 13 years of service and spent the next six years in private practice with the Lanier Law Firm. After joining the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in 2012, Mike served as a felony prosecutor and Chief of the Misdemeanor Division. Mike assisted in creating the Montgomery County Veterans Court and has prosecuted a wide variety of cases. Mike spends a substantial amount of his time training attorneys in his offices as well as speaking to prospective attorneys about the profession of prosecution. He has also made professional presentations at various conferences across the state and the country.
Mike was promoted to his current position as First Assistant in 2016. Mike is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been married for 33 years and has four children.
Chief Policy Counsel, Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor, Right on Crime
Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice (counciloncj.org) and Senior Advisor for Right on Crime.
An attorney and accomplished author on legal and public policy issues, Marc began the Foundation’s criminal justice program in 2005. This work contributed to nationally praised policy changes that have been followed by dramatic declines in crime and incarceration in Texas. Building on this success, in 2010, Levin developed the concept for the Right on Crime initiative, a TPPF project in partnership with Prison Fellowship and the American Conservative Union Foundation. Right on Crime has become the national clearinghouse for conservative criminal justice reforms and has contributed to the adoption of policies in dozens of states that fight crime, support victims, and protect taxpayers.
In 2014, Levin was named one of the “Politico 50” in the magazine’s annual “list of thinkers, doers, and dreamers who really matter in this age of gridlock and dysfunction.”
Marc has testified on criminal justice policy on four occasions before Congress and has testified before legislatures in states including Texas, Nevada, Kansas, Wisconsin, and California. He also has met personally with leaders such as U.S. Presidents, Speakers of the House, and the Justice Commtitee of the United Kingdom Parliament to share his ideas on criminal justice reform. In 2007, he was honored in a resolution unanimously passed by the Texas House of Representatives that stated, “Mr. Levin’s intellect is unparalleled and his research is impeccable.”
Since 2005, Marc has published dozens of policy papers on topics such as sentencing, probation, parole, reentry, and overcriminalization which are available on the TPPF website. Levin’s articles on law and public policy have been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Texas Review of Law & Politics, National Law Journal, New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, Toronto Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Charlotte Observer, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and Reason Magazine.
In 1999, Marc graduated with honors from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government. In 2002, Marc received his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. Marc was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow in 1996. He served as a law clerk to Judge Will Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Staff Attorney at the Texas Supreme Court.
Owner, VSV Leadership
Patrick Robinson is the owner of VSV Leadership and president of the board of Kid C.A.T.. Before starting VSV Leadership, Mr. Robinson worked at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as both a member of the strategic initiatives team and as a Transforming Prosecution Lead.
He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he got his Masters of Business Administration, and he received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal Justice
Rothman has worked as a researcher, educator, communications specialist, policy analyst, and funder across the criminal justice system and emerging technology landscape. Throughout his career, he has focused on supporting and implementing programs that aim to enable public policy that is effective, safe, and dependable for all. Rothman holds an M.T.S from Harvard University in religion, ethics, and politics and a B.A. in political science from Carleton College.
Judge, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana
Judge Schlegel, a recent inductee into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame, was elected to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in 2023. During Judge Schlegel’s decade on the trial court, he “designed and managed what may be one of the most advanced courts in the country for delivering justice online,” according to one legal tech journalist.
Judge Schlegel currently serves on the ABA & LSBA Task Forces on the Law and Artificial Intelligence, among others. He is the immediate past Chair of the Louisiana Supreme Court Technology Commission and has served as President of the Louisiana District Judges Association. Judge Schlegel has received numerous awards including the National Center for State Courts’ 26th Annual William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the highest judicial honors in the country. Judge Schlegel was also featured on the cover of the American Bar Association Journal and is a nationally recognized speaker on legal tech and the modernization of the justice system.
Judge Schlegel has been equally innovative in the criminal justice system. While on the trial court, Judge Schlegel established the Reentry Court and Swift & Certain Probation programs in Jefferson Parish, aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing community safety.
Prior to his election to the bench, Judge Schlegel was one of the top felony prosecutors in the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. He practiced civil law with an emphasis in products liability before becoming a prosecutor. Judge Schlegel graduated with honors from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where he served as the President of the Student Bar Association. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Representative Laurie Schlegel, for 25 years and has one son in college.
First Assistant District Attorney, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Conroe Texas
Mike Holley is the First Assistant District Attorney at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Conroe, Texas. Mike a graduate of Abilene Christian University where he graduated summa cum laude. Mike received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law where he also graduated summa cum laude, and he received his L.L.M. from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
As First Assistant, Mike is responsible for the day-to-day management of the office, supervision, and training of employees, trying cases, and the preparation of the annual office budget.
Before joining the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Mike served in the United States Army. Mike’s Army career began as a Military Police Officer before The Army sent him to law school. Mike would go on to serve as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney in the Army and, in 2004, would serve as the Chief Prosecutor in the Abu Ghraib Detainee Abuse cases in Baghdad, Iraq.
Mike left the Army as a Major after 13 years of service and spent the next six years in private practice with the Lanier Law Firm. After joining the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in 2012, Mike served as a felony prosecutor and Chief of the Misdemeanor Division. Mike assisted in creating the Montgomery County Veterans Court and has prosecuted a wide variety of cases. Mike spends a substantial amount of his time training attorneys in his offices as well as speaking to prospective attorneys about the profession of prosecution. He has also made professional presentations at various conferences across the state and the country.
Mike was promoted to his current position as First Assistant in 2016. Mike is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been married for 33 years and has four children.
Chief Policy Counsel, Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor, Right on Crime
Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice (counciloncj.org) and Senior Advisor for Right on Crime.
An attorney and accomplished author on legal and public policy issues, Marc began the Foundation’s criminal justice program in 2005. This work contributed to nationally praised policy changes that have been followed by dramatic declines in crime and incarceration in Texas. Building on this success, in 2010, Levin developed the concept for the Right on Crime initiative, a TPPF project in partnership with Prison Fellowship and the American Conservative Union Foundation. Right on Crime has become the national clearinghouse for conservative criminal justice reforms and has contributed to the adoption of policies in dozens of states that fight crime, support victims, and protect taxpayers.
In 2014, Levin was named one of the “Politico 50” in the magazine’s annual “list of thinkers, doers, and dreamers who really matter in this age of gridlock and dysfunction.”
Marc has testified on criminal justice policy on four occasions before Congress and has testified before legislatures in states including Texas, Nevada, Kansas, Wisconsin, and California. He also has met personally with leaders such as U.S. Presidents, Speakers of the House, and the Justice Commtitee of the United Kingdom Parliament to share his ideas on criminal justice reform. In 2007, he was honored in a resolution unanimously passed by the Texas House of Representatives that stated, “Mr. Levin’s intellect is unparalleled and his research is impeccable.”
Since 2005, Marc has published dozens of policy papers on topics such as sentencing, probation, parole, reentry, and overcriminalization which are available on the TPPF website. Levin’s articles on law and public policy have been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Texas Review of Law & Politics, National Law Journal, New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, Toronto Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Charlotte Observer, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and Reason Magazine.
In 1999, Marc graduated with honors from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government. In 2002, Marc received his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. Marc was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow in 1996. He served as a law clerk to Judge Will Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Staff Attorney at the Texas Supreme Court.
Owner, VSV Leadership
Patrick Robinson is the owner of VSV Leadership and president of the board of Kid C.A.T.. Before starting VSV Leadership, Mr. Robinson worked at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as both a member of the strategic initiatives team and as a Transforming Prosecution Lead.
He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he got his Masters of Business Administration, and he received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal Justice
Rothman has worked as a researcher, educator, communications specialist, policy analyst, and funder across the criminal justice system and emerging technology landscape. Throughout his career, he has focused on supporting and implementing programs that aim to enable public policy that is effective, safe, and dependable for all. Rothman holds an M.T.S from Harvard University in religion, ethics, and politics and a B.A. in political science from Carleton College.
Judge, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana
Judge Schlegel, a recent inductee into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame, was elected to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in 2023. During Judge Schlegel’s decade on the trial court, he “designed and managed what may be one of the most advanced courts in the country for delivering justice online,” according to one legal tech journalist.
Judge Schlegel currently serves on the ABA & LSBA Task Forces on the Law and Artificial Intelligence, among others. He is the immediate past Chair of the Louisiana Supreme Court Technology Commission and has served as President of the Louisiana District Judges Association. Judge Schlegel has received numerous awards including the National Center for State Courts’ 26th Annual William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the highest judicial honors in the country. Judge Schlegel was also featured on the cover of the American Bar Association Journal and is a nationally recognized speaker on legal tech and the modernization of the justice system.
Judge Schlegel has been equally innovative in the criminal justice system. While on the trial court, Judge Schlegel established the Reentry Court and Swift & Certain Probation programs in Jefferson Parish, aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing community safety.
Prior to his election to the bench, Judge Schlegel was one of the top felony prosecutors in the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. He practiced civil law with an emphasis in products liability before becoming a prosecutor. Judge Schlegel graduated with honors from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where he served as the President of the Student Bar Association. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Representative Laurie Schlegel, for 25 years and has one son in college.
The Perils and Promise of A.I. in Criminal Justice
Michael R. Holley, Marc Levin, Patrick Robinson, Jesse Rothman, Scott U. Schlegel
Our liberty, safety, and prosperity are based on the rule of law, not the rule...
The Perils and Promise of A.I. in Criminal Justice
Michael R. Holley, Marc Levin, Patrick Robinson, Jesse Rothman, Scott U. Schlegel
Our liberty, safety, and prosperity are based on the rule of law, not the rule...