Who We Are

In November 2021, Bethke was appointed as the Director of the newly created Managed Assigned Counsel Office, Bexar County, Texas. The office provides needed support to appointed attorneys and applies evidence-based strategies that are client-centered to enhance outcomes. He serves on the Board for the National Association of Public Defense Fund for Justice, the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyer Association, and Chairs the Board for the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs.

He is the former Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, Harris County Justice Administration, Harris County Pretrial Services, and the Lubbock Private Defender Office. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law. 

Formerly a member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and was part of a team of legal experts from France, Spain, and the United States charged with conducting an independent review and assessment of the International Criminal Court’s legal aid system at 

He is a past-chair of the Juvenile Law Exam Commission for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow. He is a U.S. Army veteran from the 101st Airborne Division, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler and the Texas Tech University School of Law.

Robert F. Gebbia (Bobby) is a passionate and experienced criminal defense attorney.  He serves his clients with a style all his own.  He is a zealous advocate for his clients.  He is an active and exacting attorney with 10 years of experience in both State and Federal Courts. He practices in both State and Federal courts throughout all jurisdictions in the State of Texas.  Bobby is also a licensed attorney, currently inactive, in the State of Hawaii.  Mr. Gebbia has tried dozens of high-profile major felony cases and is qualified to work on death penalty cases by the State of Texas. He has been recognized repeatedly by his peers as one of the best criminal defense lawyers in San Antonio. 

During law school, Bobby Gebbia interned at the Bexar County District Attorney's office where he assisted in the prosecution of felony offenses. Additionally, Robert served in USAA's General Counsel division for a year before returning to private practice.  Bobby is an adjunct professor of law for both the undergraduate and graduate schools at Schreiner University. His current classes include Legal Environments of Business Law 1 and 2 and Business Law for Managers.  Robert began as an adjunct professor with Schreiner in the Fall of 2014 and he previously taught English in South Korea. 

Bobby is currently a Ph.D. student at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.  In 2017, as part of his first year in the Ph.D. program, he completed a partial dissertation literature review on the attributes of servant leadership and attorneys who perform criminal defense for the indigent.  Bobby is a 2016 graduate of Schreiner University's MBA program, which focuses on ethical leadership.  Bobby was a Dean's List student and 2007 graduate of St. Mary's University School of Law.  In 2003, Bobby completed his undergraduate work at Hawaii Pacific University where he was a Dean's List student.  He is a 1995 graduate of Sachem High School in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York where he excelled academically.    

Robert is a veteran of the United States Army where he served for 5 years as an Intelligence Analyst and Linguist. As an Intelligence Analyst, he was stationed in South Korea where he studied Korean at the prestigious Yonsei University.  He is a 1998 graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California where he studied Korean.  Also, he was the 1999 Distinguished Honor Graduate of the United States Army Intelligence School in Ft. Huachuca, Az.  Robert was honorably discharged from his military service out of Fort Polk, Louisiana where he served with the fabled 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment.  

In his leisure time, Bobby enjoys stargazing through his Orion classic Dobsonian telescope and listening to his collection of classic Pink Floyd vinyl records.  He is married to the wonderful Kealohalani Gebbia and together they have five amazing children.   

Rocky Ramirez is the Director of Professional Development and Technology at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office. His role is to assist panel attorneys with technology issues in their practice, as well as to evaluate and automate business processes for the MAC.

Rocky grew up in Grapevine, TX, and was a member of the Grapevine Debate Team and Mock Trial Team. Rocky did his undergrad at Texas Tech University majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Political Science. During this time, he was the Music Director and then the Station Manager at 88.1 KTXT-FM the college radio station.  

He attended Western State University in California and graded on to Law Review and was a member of the Latino Student Bar Association. Rocky also obtained a degree in Sound Engineering from the Los Angeles Recording School and spent two years as an intern and sound engineer in Los Angeles. Rocky moved back to Texas and started his law practice in Lubbock as a panel attorney in the Lubbock Private Defenders Office, the first Managed Assigned Counsel office in Texas. In 2019 he attended Gideon’s Promise in Atlanta, GA as one of the inaugural members of the Future Indigent Defense Leaders program (FIDL 1.0). In May of 2022, Rocky has joined the team at the Bexar County MAC. Rocky is a regular CLE presenter in Texas on the subject of the intersection of criminal indigent defense and technology, particularly, on the use of process and workflow automation.

Rocky is a proud father of two beautiful boys who keep him busy in his time away from work. 

Attorney Hallie Pease joined the Managed Assigned Counsel Program as a Law and Trial Resource Attorney.  

While attending law school, Hallie worked and completed clerkships with Hunter, Lane & Jampala, Goldstein & Orr, and Judge Kevin Yeary at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals- the highest court to decide criminal matters in the State of Texas. She also served for two years as the president of the St. Mary’s University Criminal Law Association. She managed all these time-consuming commitments while simultaneously representing criminal defendants with the St. Mary’s University Criminal Justice Clinic. 

Following her graduation- cum laude- from St. Mary’s University School of Law, Hallie continued to pursue her passion for criminal law while working for Hunter, Lane & Jampala, and BRCK Criminal Defense before joining the Managed Assigned Counsel Program.  

Hallie is presently licensed to practice law in the State of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Western, Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of Texas. 

Forrest Good is one of our Law and Trial Resource Attorneys, born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and a graduate of St. Mary’s School of Law. He has built a diverse legal career relying on his academic background and practical experiences. He was an Octa-Finalist in the 2017 Linda and Dave Schlueter First Year Moot Court Competition and received the Volume 20 Staff Writer Excellence Award for The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice. His legal experience includes tenure at both civil and criminal law firms, where he dealt with civil litigation, contracts, and criminal defense in Appellate, District, County, JP, and Municipal courts. Forrest has a track record of vigorously defending indigent clients, handling a spectrum of misdemeanor and felony cases with zealous advocacy and empathetic understanding.

Forrest also obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a focus in Digital Communication and a minor in Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Beyond Law, Forrest's photography has been featured in a Southtown art gallery during Fotoseptiembre™, and he is known to occasionally play the guitar. His inspirations include attorneys such as William Kunstler and Clarence Darrow, and authors like David Foster Wallace, Kafka, and Jean Baudrillard.

James Garza is the Program Manager for the Managed Assigned Counsel Office and has been with Bexar County for over fifteen years.  He has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Texas A&M University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word, and an MBA from the University of the Incarnate Word.  Prior to joining Bexar County, James served honorably in the United States Air Force from 2001 to 2007, deploying to both Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as an Air Surveillance Office on board the E-3 AWACS.   

In 2008, he started working for Bexar County as a Roving Court Clerk in the County Clerk’s Office Civil Filing Office and, in 2011, he moved to the District Clerk’s Office working his way up from a Senior Policy Analyst to Senior Division Chief over 11 years.   Lastly, James comes to the MAC office with a wealth of experience in project coordination, accounting / bookkeeping, office management, and budget preparation.  Outside the office, James plays tuba for the Helotes Area Community Band, enjoys going to the movies, and is an avid reader of Stephen King.

Micaela Sudolcan is the Senior Research Data Analyst at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office. Her role is to lead research activities including data collection, data reporting, evaluation, statistical analysis, and data visualization. Micaela is responsible for monitoring compliance, preparing and submitting quarterly reports, and assessing the impact of the MAC office. Micaela’s role is to recommend data-informed policies.

 Micaela grew up in San Antonio, Tx and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Micaela completed her dual master’s degree at Sam Houston State University. During her time in graduate school, Micaela was published in the Journal of Crime & Delinquency and presented at multiple national criminal justice conferences. 

 Micaela has been working in the field for the last three years with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department. In this role, Micaela has worked diligently to integrate data-driven approaches into improving probation services in the county. In this role, Micaela fulfilled many different responsibilities, such as managing grant projects, grant reporting, state reporting, data audits, and training probation officers. This work has allowed Micaela to become deeply familiar with the inner workings of probation and state criminal justice agencies. Micaela assisted in testing the development of the new Bexar County case management system for a successful go-live. 

 During her free time, Micaela loves to support her Husband Steven who is a football coach at Wagner High School by attending games. Micaela enjoys going to the movies, Bass fishing, family time, and is very involved in her Church.

Valerie Granado is the Office Manager for the Bexar County MAC. She received her MBA in Human Resource Management from Texas A&M University in San Antonio. Valerie brings experience in management, human resources, instructional design and development, technical training, organizing boards and commissions, and is also a Notary Public.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, she is proud to be working in a setting that allows her to utilize her knowledge and expertise to support and better serve the indigent community of Bexar County. Valerie is an avid butterfly enthusiast. She raises monarch butterflies each migration season to help prevent the monarch population from reaching extinction. She also enjoys quality time with her family and loves supporting her children in their extracurricular activities.  

Stephanie Luna is the Executive Assistant for the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office. Stephanie was a transfer from within Bexar County where she previously worked as a District Court Clerk with the District Clerk’s Office. Stephanie is a people person and loves to provide support wherever she can.   

Nicole Medrano is the Program Coordinator for the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office. Nicole has been a Bexar County employee for 15 years. She previously worked as a Senior Court Support Specialist with the County Courts at Law Office. Nicole is also studying to be a Certified Court Reporter and is a very proud mother of two.

In her free time, when she is not studying, she loves spending time with her family

Brittney Phelps is the Mental Health Licensed Social Worker with the Managed Assigned Council with Bexar County. Brittney is from Knoxville, TN and graduated with her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. Brittney is a Licensed Masters Social Worker and is currently working to gain her clinical license. Brittney began her career in 2010 as a domestic violence advocate and has since gained approximately eleven years of experience within the mental health field. Brittney has held various roles such as a case manager, employment specialist, program manager, mental health coordinator, and therapist and has worked in various settings to include shelters, mental health facilities, corrections, and substance abuse.

Jose is the Mental Health Case Manager at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is currently working on achieving his Master of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with the goal of starting his own practice.

Jose brings experience in providing case management services in assisting individuals gain access to needed medical, social, educational, financial, and therapeutic resources. Prior to joining the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel team, Jose worked with a private agency doing case management work with indigent people diagnosed with serious mental illness (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features).