Alex Wathen says his fellow attorneys used to laugh at him when he filed Batson motions during jury selection in municipal court — one of the lowest rungs on the judicial ladder where a litigant’s freedom almost never is at stake.

“When I first starting practicing in municipal court back in 1998, people were shocked when I first did a Batson hearing,” says Wathen, a Houston solo. “But I’m very proud of standing up for people’s right to serve on juries regardless of their race.”