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The Ritenour Law Firm: A Solo Practitioner Who Helped Argue a Death Penalty Case at the U.S. Supreme Court

Few solo San Antonio criminal defense attorney practices carry U.S. Supreme Court appellate credentials, but John J. “Bud” Ritenour Jr. does: he served as co-counsel for the petitioner in Trevino v. Thaler, a 2013 Supreme Court case decided in his client’s favor on a Texas death-penalty habeas corpus appeal, principal-authoring the certiorari petition and accompanying lead counsel at oral argument. This profile is part of Awesome Attorneys’ coverage of San Antonio criminal lawyer options.

At a Glance

Origin & Background

Ritenour has practiced criminal defense as a solo attorney handling state and federal felony and misdemeanor cases across trial, appeal, and post-conviction proceedings, including habeas corpus petitions, parole revocations, and federal supervised release matters. His Supreme Court appellate work on Trevino v. Thaler — an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel challenge in a Texas death penalty case — represents an unusually high-level credential for a solo practice; the case was decided May 28, 2013, and Ritenour’s role as principal certiorari petition author is independently listed on his professional biography and multiple attorney directories. He is a Fellow Member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, a Past President of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and currently chairs the Bexar County Public Defender Oversight Board.

San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney Practice Concentration

As a San Antonio criminal defense attorney practice, Ritenour’s caseload spans trial-level defense, direct appeal, and post-conviction habeas corpus work in both state and federal court — a broader procedural range than many firms that concentrate on trial work alone. His listed practice areas also include Driving While Intoxicated and drug crime defense, litigated primarily in Bexar County courts given his San Antonio base.

Track Record

Beyond the Trevino v. Thaler Supreme Court result, specific case-by-case outcome statistics were not independently available in the sources reviewed for this profile. Criminal case outcomes, including appellate and habeas corpus results, depend heavily on the specific facts, procedural posture, and legal issues involved; past results do not predict or guarantee an outcome in any future case.

Client Voice

Client reviews on Avvo describe Ritenour as trustworthy and thorough, with one reviewer crediting his handling of video and documentary evidence in securing a case dismissal for a family member. Peer endorsements from fellow attorneys are notably substantive rather than perfunctory: one describes him as “the gold standard when it comes to criminal defense” in the San Antonio legal community, and another credits him with mentoring on ethical questions and ongoing trial-practice guidance. No formal bar complaints or disciplinary actions were found in the sources reviewed.

Beyond the Courtroom

Ritenour co-chairs the San Antonio Bar Association’s Criminal Law and Procedure Committee and chairs the Bexar County Public Defender Oversight Board, giving him an institutional role in how indigent defense is structured locally, distinct from his private caseload. His 2013 dual recognition — SACDLA Defender of the Year and Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Lawyer of the Year, both in the same year — reflects the Trevino v. Thaler result and broader career recognition from that period.

Recognition

Board certification disclosure: John J. Ritenour Jr.’s Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification in Criminal Law was independently confirmed through his published professional biography and multiple third-party attorney directories, which is why “specialist” language is used for him individually in this profile. His SACDLA and TCDLA “Lawyer/Defender of the Year” recognitions are peer-nominated professional-association awards rather than state licensing credentials, and are disclosed here as such.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas criminal defendants facing state habeas corpus proceedings — a specific area of Ritenour’s practice — operate under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.07, which governs post-conviction relief for felony convictions and generally requires claims to be raised in a single, consolidated application absent narrow exceptions for newly discovered facts. Federal habeas corpus review of state convictions, separately, is constrained by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act’s one-year filing deadline and its deferential standard of review toward state court rulings — the exact procedural terrain at issue in Trevino v. Thaler, which addressed when a federal court may excuse a defaulted ineffective-assistance claim.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

The Ritenour Law Firm’s clearest differentiator is depth of appellate and post-conviction credentials rarely found outside large institutional defense organizations: TBLS board certification in Criminal Law combined with genuine U.S. Supreme Court experience on a capital habeas case, backed by substantive peer endorsements from other practicing attorneys rather than generic praise.

The honest trade-off is scale: this is a solo practice, meaning clients get direct access to Ritenour personally but without the backup bench of associate attorneys or support staff a larger firm can offer for high-volume or time-sensitive matters. Clients with a straightforward misdemeanor matter should weigh whether that level of appellate-caliber experience is necessary for their specific case, versus a firm built around faster case turnover.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from John J. Ritenour Jr.’s published professional biography on Lawyer Legion, his Avvo client and peer review pages, Martindale-Hubbell and Lawyers.com directory listings, and Lawyer.com’s attorney status verification. His Supreme Court appellate role was cross-checked against the publicly reported disposition of Trevino v. Thaler (decided May 28, 2013). Board certification was independently confirmed through his published attorney biography. Statutory references were checked against Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.07 and the federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act as generally published. No case results, credentials, or quotes were invented; the client and peer statements referenced above are drawn from his public Avvo review page.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by The Ritenour Law Firm, P.C. prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placements clearly labeled as such, but no payment of any kind determines inclusion in, or the content of, this editorial profile. This article is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and The Ritenour Law Firm or Awesome Attorneys.