Cynthia Eva Hujar Orr has attained national prominence defending citizens and entities in state and federal trial and appellate courts. She is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Criminal Law and Criminal Appeals. She serves on the Texas Board of Law Examiners and the Texas State Bar District 10 Grievance Committee.
She is the current President of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law where she leads the Society’s international law scholarship and the presentation and study of reforms in criminal law globally. She has earned the profound respect of her colleagues in the United States who elected her to Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Section in 2014.
Cynthia served as President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers from 2009-2010 and is currently the President of its Criminal Justice Foundation that supports criminal justice education and reforms nationally. She was President of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 2003, and became the first President of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 1999. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit.
In the local community, Cynthia is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association and the SABA Federal Courts Committee. She is also the CJA Panel Rep for the Western District of Texas and is on the San Antonio Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee – Criminal Law. She was also inducted as a Fellow in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers in 2018. She has been a Texas Super Lawyer for twenty years as determined by Thompson Reuters from 2003 t0 2023 and was chosen as among the top one percent among lawyers by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel in 2023.
She is a member of the San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce. Cynthia is an inductee into the San Antonio Woman’s Hall of Fame for Law. She is co- founder of the Texas Innocence Network, the San Antonio Minority Business Accelerator and the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Women’s Opportunity Week. Cynthia is listed in The Best Lawyers in America as recognized by BL Rankings and is listed as the Best 100 Trial Lawyers in Texas by The National Trial Lawyers. She has an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell.
Cynthia obtained the first confession of error by the State of Texas in a death penalty case. She was counsel on the Amicus brief in CNN vs. General Manuel Noriega before the United States Supreme Court where she successfully defended this unpopular defendant’s attorney-client privilege and won Moreno -Gonzalez vs. U.S., No. 07-400 (2008) in the United Supreme Court holding that the mere hiding of money transported across the border does not constitute money laundering. She is most active advocating criminal justice reforms.
A 1979 undergraduate of the University of Texas at Austin and 1988 graduate of St. Mary’s University Law School, Cynthia began her career clerking for “Retired” Fifth Circuit Judge Emilio Garza when he was on the District Court bench in San Antonio, Texas. She is proficient in trial, appeals, writs of habeas corpus, petitions for discretionary review, writs of certiorari, mandamus, and prohibition. Her breadth of experience with each vehicle compliments her other strengths, making her a effective and experienced advocate.
Cynthia Orr’s Honors and Awards
National Association of Distinguished Counsel
2023
Scene in S.A. Women In Law
2023
Recognized by Best Lawyers as recognized by BL Rankings
2023
San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
American Association of American Advocates
Top Ranking Criminal Defense Attorney
Outstanding Women In Law - Scene In S.A.
San Antonio’s Outstanding Women In Law – Scene In S.A.
2021
San Antonio Best Female Lawyer – Scene In S.A.
2021
NACDL – Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award
2003-2004
Leadership Roles
- President of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law (ISRCL).
- Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Section.
- Past President (2009-2010) of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).
- Past President (2003) of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA).
- Founding Member and first President (1999) of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (SACDLA).
Areas of Practice
Some of her past clients have been under investigation for the following types of charges:
- antitrust;
- money laundering;
- RICO (Racketeering in Corrupt Organizations);
- economic espionage;
- a wide variety of fraud cases (including foreign bank fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, insurance fraud, healthcare fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud, computer and internet fraud, credit card fraud, phone and telemarketing fraud, mail fraud, government fraud, financial fraud);
- Bank Secrecy Act violations;
- money transfer business violations;
- tax evasion;
- economic and cyber-crime violations;
- campaign contribution and election code violations;
- public corruption;
- insider trading;
- bribery;
- kickbacks;
- counterfeiting;
- embezzlement;
- trade secret theft;
- ITAR;
- EAR and munitions violations;
- environmental violations; and
- import or export offenses and forfeiture.
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 1989
- U.S. District Court Western District of Texas, 1989
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1990
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1990
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1991
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 1991
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1992
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1992
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1996
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 2004
- Board of Law Examiners for the Texas State Bar Association
Education
- St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas, 1988 J.D.
- University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1979 B.B.A. Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Fraternities/Sororities
Delta Gamma Phi Alpha Delta
Honors and Awards
- Texas Super Lawyers as recognized by Thompson Reuters, Texas Monthly, 2003 – Present
- Won First Confession of Error in a Capital Murder Case in TX, 2000
- Inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in Law, 2006
- Best Lawyers in America White Collar Crime & Appellate, 2006 – 2009
- Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Texas, American Association for Justice, 2007 – Present
- Best Lawyers in America, 2005 – Present
- Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Presidential Award, 1994 – 1998, 2000-2001, 2003, 2012, 2021, 2022
- Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Board Resolution re: Cynthia Hujar Orr’s contribution to justice in the United States, July 31, 2009
- Presidential Recognition by National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1999 – 2004, 2007-2008
- San Antonio Bar Association Presidential Award, 1998
- San Antonio Bar Association Presidential Award “Outstanding Service”, 2010
- San Antonio Business Journal: Women’s Leadership Award for Mentoring, 2009
- Featured in Texas Monthly by Thompson Reuters Chosen as a Texas Super Lawyer by Peers, 2003 – Present
- Featured in Scene in SA Monthly Chosen as One of the Best Lawyers in San Antonio by Peers, 2004 – Present
- AV Rated by Martindale-Hubble, 2006 – Present
- Recipient of the first Minuteman Strike Force Award by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2012
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Robert Heeney Award 2014
- Recipient of the first Spirit of Justice Award by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2012
- St. Mary’s School of Law Distinguished Law Graduate 2019
- American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Charles English Award 2021
- Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Hall of Fame 2022
- National Association of Distinguished Counsel, recognized and top one percent of lawyers 2023
Professional Associations and Memberships
- San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Founder, Past President 1999
- Federal Courts Committee –1999-Present, Criminal Justice Act Representative for the Western District of Texas
- The San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce
- American Bar Association, 1988 – Present
- Chair, Criminal Justice Section, 2014
- Representative, House of Delegates for NACDL, 2011 – Present
- Criminal Justice Section Ad Hoc Innocence Committee to Ensure the Integrity of the Criminal Process, 2002-2008
- Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, President 2003 – 2004
- On the Board of Directors of Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Education Institute
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1988 – Present
- President, 2009 – 2010
- Current President Criminal Justice Foundation
- William S. Sessions American Inn of Court, 2001 – Present
- Texas Innocence Network, Co-Founder, 2000
- Current President International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law
- Board of Law Examiners-2015 to present
- Texas State Bar Grievance Committee District 10, Panel 3 Chair
- Bar Association for the Federal Fifth Circuit, Board of Governors
Practice Certifications
- Board Certified, Criminal Law, 1994, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
- Board Certified, Criminal Appellate Law, 2011, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Published Works
- Extending Justice: Strategies to Increase Inclusion and Reduce Bias by Bernice B. Donald and Sarah E. Redfield, 2022
- The State of Criminal Justice, American Bar Association, 2009
- The State of Criminal Justice, American Bar Association, 2008
- The ABA Criminal Justice Standards for the Defense and Prosecution Function, American Bar Association, 2009
- Lost Power, Texas Lawyer, December 22, 2003
- Defending the Right to Defend, July/August, 2003
- After All, We Are Professionals, September, 2003
- The High Court Should Strike Down Laws Effecting a Power Grab by the Attorney General, October, 2003
- Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?, November, 2003
- We Don’t Need No Stink’n Privilege, December, 2003
- The “War on Drugs” and Other Follies, January/February, 2004
- Where Is The Court Going With the Fourth Amendment? Search Me…, April, 2004
- We Take No Note of Time But From Its Loss, May, 2004
- Evolving Standards of Decency: Support for the Death Penalty Is Waning and Habeas, Federal Court Review of New Evidence Procedurally Barred As An Abuse, Court of Criminal Appeals, June, 2004
- Achieving Justice: Freeing the Innocent, Convicting the Guilty, Report of the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s Ad Hoc Innocence Committee to Ensure the Integrity of the Criminal Process
Presentations / Lectures
The Post-Postville Conference, September 18, 2008, Kansas City, MO; Topic: Ethical Considerations Governing Multiple Representations, sponsored by The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The American Immigration Lawyers Association, The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project and the Federal Public Defender for the District of Kansas City, Mo.
Defending Drug Cases Seminar, November 13-14, 2008, Houston, TX; Topic: Forfeiture, sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Defense Champions at Battle: Charging the Line, August 22-23, 2008, Nashville, TN (attachment is closing.arguments.pdf); Topic: Closing: It is YOUR Battlefield, YOUR Win, sponsored by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
