John L. Venza Jr.

Relentless Criminal Defense

Do you need a relentless criminal defense? If you have been charged with a crime in Texas, you deserve the aggressive, detail-oriented, cutting edge defense that attorney John L. Venza Jr. will provide. Based in Sugar Land, Texas, John L. Venza Jr. defends citizens accused of crimes throughout Southeast Texas, including the following counties: Fort Bend County, Harris County, Brazoria County, Wharton County, Matagorda County, Galveston County and Montgomery County.

A Lifetime of Preparation

From the time he was old enough to really think about it, John L. Venza Jr. aspired to be a criminal defense lawyer, and he began laying the groundwork for this goal early. When other children were reading the comics, John L. Venza Jr. was sitting at his parents' breakfast table, scouring the newspaper for stories about big trials and the lawyers who argued them. Later on, while other high school students busied themselves with typical teenage pursuits, John L. Venza Jr. took on a demanding schedule that involved honors classes, writing for the school newspaper, playing football, serving on the student council, and working at a pizza restaurant. Ultimately, John L. Venza Jr.'s dedication and hard work enabled him to graduate cum laude from Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, Texas.

Staying focused on his goal, John L. Venza Jr. enrolled in college at the University of Texas in Austin, where he majored in Government and minored in English. He concentrated on the system of government, the motivations behind it, and - most importantly - how the government could direct its power at its citizens through the court system. During those studies, John L. Venza Jr. developed an insider's understanding of the challenges people face when they are criminally accused by the government.

After obtaining his undergraduate degree, John L. Venza Jr. enrolled at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. In law school, John L. Venza Jr. excelled academically. He graduated in the top fifteen percent of his class and, based on his high grades, was honored with a position on the prestigious South Texas Law Review. While on Law Review, John L. Venza Jr. wrote two lengthy research papers on criminal law topics, one on capital punishment, and the other on Texas constitutional search and seizure law. A brilliant writer, John L. Venza Jr. volunteered for and was granted the honor of serving as an Assistant Articles Editor on the Law Review.

While Law Review and his studies enabled John L. Venza Jr. to assimilate an incisive understanding of the law, it was his tireless work in mock trial that John L. Venza Jr. believes best prepared him for the things to come. Like his other extracurricular pursuits, John L. Venza Jr.'s enlistment in mock trial was purely voluntary. He could have been at home at night watching television. Instead, he concentrated on evidence law, rehearsed opening statements, and crafted the first of what would later become his calling card: excruciating cross examinations. John L. Venza Jr. competed in a series of rigorous mock trial tournaments, which often went on late into the night. During these simulated trials, John L. Venza Jr. began to develop a keen understanding of the law of evidence, an awareness of how judges evaluate cases, and an appreciation of what juries want. For his total commitment to mock trial work, John L. Venza Jr. was recognized with several individual awards and a school-wide team championship.

In addition to classes, homework, Law Review, and mock trial, John L. Venza Jr. also worked during law school as an intern for the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office. In this capacity, John L. Venza Jr. was awarded a temporary bar card, which enabled him to prosecute actual criminal cases while still only a law student. Also during law school, John L. Venza Jr. worked as a law clerk for a Houston law firm, which specialized in white collar criminal defense. His work at that firm included researching federal criminal issues and coauthoring articles, which were published statewide, on federal white collar crime. Both of these jobs, which John L. Venza Jr. held at the outset of his legal career, helped John L. Venza Jr. hone his understanding of the government, its powers and its ways.

After graduating law school, John L. Venza Jr. went to work as a prosecutor for the State of Texas. In his five years of work as a prosecutor, John L. Venza Jr. prosecuted a vast spectrum of cases, ranging from simple traffic tickets all the way up to first degree felonies, including murder. He quickly rose through the ranks, beginning as a Justice Court prosecutor, who handled Class C misdemeanors, and ending as a District Court prosecutor, who handled only felony cases. His trial approach was characterized by many hours of late night and weekend work on his cases. When other prosecutors relied on investigators to do much of the "hit the streets work," John L. Venza Jr. was putting miles on his truck, going out to the scene himself, interviewing witnesses personally, learning his case inside and out, constantly turning it over in his mind. John's style as a prosecutor could be described as dogged, immersed, thorough, relentless.

Eager to Defend You

It was this tenacious approach that allowed John L. Venza Jr., when he felt the time was right, to go out on top. At the time he resigned his position as a prosecutor, he was the senior prosecutor in a felony court and had recently obtained a long-shot conviction on a complex murder case. Now, after decades of work in anticipation of his goal, John L. Venza Jr. is ready to take that relentless, hands on approach and put it to work for you.

Please know that if you have been charged with a crime, the government has prosecutors working on your case already. They are lining up their witnesses, marshalling their evidence, and thinking about what they will say about you to the jury. Why not get the relentless approach of John L. Venza Jr. working for you now?

Published Works

• Federal Criminal White Collar Update, (Co-Author), App. Advoc.:St. B. Tex. App. Sec. Rep., Winter 2001, at 37.
• Federal Criminal White Collar Update, (Co-Author), App. Advoc.:St. B. Tex. App. Sec. Rep., Spring 2001, at 47.
• The Deserving Dead: Dealing with the Deceased's Bad Character in Murder Cases Involving Self-Defense, VOICE FOR THE DEFENSE, May 2007, at 16

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Brazoria County Bar Association, Member, 2006 - Present
• Fort Bend County Bar Association, Member, 2007 - Present
• Fort Bend County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Member, 2007 - Present
• Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Member, 2007 - Present
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member, 2007 - Present
• American Bar Association, Member, 2007 - Present