© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.
By Allen Pusey
(Jan 15) – Doug Mulder, the legendary Dallas prosecutor and defense lawyer, has died. He was 79.
A family friend said Mulder had been hospitalized last Wednesday after he suffered a stroke and did not recover. He died yesterday.
Over four decades of public and private practice, Mulder handled some of the most notorious cases in Texas. He successfully defended Dallas pastor Walker Railey against charges of attempted murder in the mysterious attack on his wife. He was less successful in his defense of Darlie Lynn Routier, a Rowlett housewife now on death row for stabbing to death two of her sons while her 7-month old slept upstairs.
But Mulder may be best known to a certain generation as the former first assistant to the legendary Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade. As a star in Wade’s talent-heavy office, Mulder became first assistant before his 30th birthday, where he remained for nearly 17 years. As a prosecutor, Mulder tried 20 death penalty cases resulting in 20 convictions.
Long regarded as Wade’s obvious successor, Mulder showed little or no interest in the political side of criminal law. Mulder felt his place was in the courtroom, says Darrell Jordan, a partner at Diamond McCarthy, who had known Mulder since their days in law school.
“Even from the first time we met, Doug said he wanted to become a trial lawyer,” said Jordan. “He was a brilliant cross-examiner. Not because he went to a lot of courses and classes. It was just an inherent skill.”
Born in Iowa, Mulder attended SMU Law School, where he graduated in 1964. Upon graduation, Mulder pointed himself to Wade’s DA office, where he thought he had the best chance of trying cases of consequence.
Mulder quickly developed a reputation, not only being for being well-prepared, but for his smooth efficiency and easy confidence before jurors.
“Jurors liked him,” said Jordan. “He didn’t come across as a bully. He didn’t come across as arrogant. Jurors believed him because he didn’t try to fool them.”
He did not, however, escape criticism. Mulder famously prosecuted Randall Dale Adams, a drifter who received the death penalty for murdering a police officer during a 1976 traffic stop. The case became the subject of an award-winning documentary, “The Thin Blue Line,” which chronicled Adams’ claim of innocence. Eventually, the prosecution’s main witness, David Ray Harris, recanted his testimony, confessing that Adams had not even been in the car with him at the time.
The documentary suggested that Mulder had withheld evidence that might support Adams’ defense. But Mulder always maintained that Adams was guilty, and would recite to friends a long list of evidence that supported the claim.
“He viewed the criticism as something that came with the job,” Jordan said.
When Mulder left the district attorney’s office, he joined the firm of Crutcher Hall Ramsey and Jordan. The move came after he was offered a chance to defend a wealthy Tyler oil man indicted for capital murder. The case not only offered the chance for a high-profile beginning to a criminal defense career, but also a fee that would double his annual salary as a public servant.
Jordan said he had seen Mulder no more than a month ago. Mulder talked about how much he was still enjoying trial work, particularly since he was working with his son. He had no thoughts of retirement, even to spend more time on the 65-foot boat he moors in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
“He had plenty of money, and no real reason to continue to work. He just loved it,” Jordan said.
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