A Houston lawyer now fights his own case. His name is Hugo Balderas-Ibarra. He speaks for two men. They rode in a van during a deadly ICE shooting. Court papers show the lawyer faces a felony charge in Harris County. That charge is assault. He also just settled a case in Florida.
This matters a lot. The lawyer's clients could be key witnesses. If he is found guilty of a felony, he may not be able to speak for them in court. That includes immigration court. The shooting he is tied to killed a 52-year-old father of three. Two offices are now looking into that death.
The lawyer speaks for two men. Both men rode as passengers in a van. An ICE agent shot and killed the driver. It happened on the morning of July 7 in Houston. The driver was a 52-year-old father of three. The lawyer says his clients do not agree with ICE's story. An ICE spokesperson says the driver tried to dodge arrest. ICE says the driver tried to run over an agent. The agent then fired his gun, ICE says. The driver's family does not agree with that story.
The two men's words could matter a lot. Their own account may help show what really happened. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a watchdog office. That office is looking into the shooting. The Harris County District Attorney's Office is looking into it too.
The lawyer faced a new charge in January. It came in Harris County. He is accused of hurting a family member. He is also accused of blocking her breath. Court papers say it happened in May 2024. The spot was a Houston airport. He allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck. She was a woman he dated. He then squeezed and twisted her throat, the papers say. This caused her pain. It also made her feel dizzy.
The lawyer had a second case in Florida. He got arrested there last December. The county was Seminole County. He faced one count of kidnapping. That count also covered false imprisonment. He faced one more count too. That count was battery. On Wednesday, he changed his plea. He pleaded no contest to one charge. That charge was battery tied to domestic violence. As part of the deal, the false imprisonment count got dropped. He did not get jail time. A judge gave him 12 months of probation. He must also do 40 hours of community work. He must pay a $108 fine. He still faces the Harris County charge.
A guilty verdict could cost him his law license. Federal rules say a lawyer can be suspended. That happens if the lawyer is found guilty of a serious crime. Any felony counts as a serious crime under those rules. A lawyer can also lose the right to work in federal court. That happens if a state board takes away his license first.
The State Bar of Texas has its own rules too. Say a lawyer is found guilty of a serious crime. Then the bar's top watchdog can push for quick action. The bar's website spells out what comes next. "Where the sentence includes any period of incarceration other than as a condition of probation, the lawyer shall be disbarred," the site states. Say the sentence is all probation instead. Then a state board gets to choose. The board can pause the lawyer's license for the probation term. Or the board can take the license away for good. A lawyer can fight that kind of call. The fight would go to the Supreme Court of Texas.
No one could reach the lawyer for comment on Tuesday. His defense lawyer in the Harris County case did not answer either. The lawyer did give a statement to Houston TV station KPRC. "I maintain my innocence and believe the focus should continue to be on my clients, rather than shifting focus onto me. Don't lose focus!" he said.
He was arrested in Harris County back in January. He got out of jail on a $20,000 bond, court records show. His Harris County assault charge is still open today.
Editor's note: This story was updated on July 15 to add the lawyer's no-contest plea in Florida.
