James G. McDermott
James Gerard McDermott is the founding Chief Public Defender of the Far West Texas Regional Public Defender. The program covers five counties, approximately 20,000 square miles—almost twice the size of Maryland—with a population of 25,000 people.
James Gerard McDermott has been a member of the State Bar of Texas Committee on Pattern Jury Charges (Criminal) since 2013 and was a member of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission’s 2020 Legislative Workgroup. In 2019, James was honored by the State Bar of Texas with the Warren Burnett Award, recognizing his efforts to improve indigent defense in rural Texas.