Published: January 31, 2009 10:15 pm      

Criminal intent: Assistant DA Sokolowski earns board certification in criminal law

PALESTINE — Stanley Sokolowski, assistant district attorney for Anderson County, has joined a select group after recently becoming board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Last October, Sokolowski took a six-hour examination at the Frank Erwin Center on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin.

Earlier this month, the 39-year-old Sokolowski, who has worked for the Anderson County district attorney’s office for almost six years, received notification he had passed the exam.

Sokolowski will be among the honorees at an induction ceremony Thursday at the Texas Law Center in Austin.

“I think it’s a terrific accomplishment for him,” said Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe, who was board certified in personal injury law before leaving private practice, “and I’m very proud he’s associated with our office.”

There are currently slightly less than 850 attorneys who are board certified in criminal law in Texas.

Lowe said local defense attorney Bill House is the only other lawyer in Anderson County who is currently board certified in criminal law.

“It’s definitely a distinct minority of lawyers who go to the trouble to get board certified,” Lowe said. 

Sokolowski said the exam was a two-part test.

“There were three essay questions in the morning — about an hour each — and the afternoon part was 100 multiple choice questions,” Sokolowski said.

To be eligible to sit for the exam, Sokolowski said attorneys had to meet several criteria, including a minimum of 60 continuing legal education hours during the previous three years; participating in a minimum of five felony jury trials; and participating in 10 misdemeanor jury trials or five more felony jury trials.

Applicants also had to get recommendations to sit for the test, he added.

The assistant prosecutor said he was encouraged by Lowe to take the exam.

“It’s not required to work in the office, but it’s a nice thing to have,” Sokolowski said. “It certainly enhances your knowledge of the law.”

Sokolowski, a native of Jackson, Mo., earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Missouri in 1992 before receiving his law degree three years later from the University of Houston School of Law.

Before coming to work at the Anderson County district attorney’s office, Sokolowski previously worked as a clerk for a Harris County justice of the peace and was an assistant district attorney in Cameron County on the Texas-Mexico border.

As “first” assistant district attorney, Sokolowski primarily prosecutes felony cases in Anderson County.

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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com