The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee announced Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) as the 2025 recipient of the Michael K. Moore Award for Excellence in Research or Writing in the Area of Indigent Criminal Defense. The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs (OCFW), based in Austin, is the 2025 recipient of the Warren Burnett Award.
The recipients will be formally recognized during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting on June 19-20 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio.
The PPRI was recognized for its 2024 report, “Justice Beyond the Cities: The State of Rural Public Defense in Texas,” a landmark study on the state of rural indigent defense in Texas. Combining rigorous data analysis with qualitative insights, the report highlights critical attorney shortages and systemic barriers faced by rural counties.
The OCFW was honored for its work representing indigent Texans sentenced to death in post-conviction proceedings. Under the leadership of OCFW Director Benjamin Wolff, OCFW has removed three clients from death row in just three years, according to a press release, while also exposing systemic issues in forensic evidence that led to the creation of a statewide crime lab disclosure portal.