Who We Are

Manuela “Mimi” Alcocer is the Immigration Resource Attorney at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel.  Prior to joining Bexar County, she was the Immigration Specialist at the Fort Bend County Public Defender’s Office where she also served on the Felony Trial Team, handling 3(g) level felony offenses including Abusive Head Trauma.  Ms. Alcocer has extensive training and experience in working with Forensic Experts.  Prior to joining Fort Bend County, she was a Lead Senior Attorney at the St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance in Houston, Texas where she represented unaccompanied minors before the EOIR, Asylum Office, USCIS, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. She also worked in the Crime Victims department and the EOIR Legal Orientation Program for Custodians of Unaccompanied Minors. Her work at the Cabrini Center helped hundreds of immigrants obtain visas for victims of crimes and human trafficking under the Violence Against Women Act.  Prior to joining the Cabrini Center, she worked for several law firms as Of Counsel in Immigration and Criminal Defense. Ms. Alcocer received her JD from Texas Southern University - Thurgood Marshall School of Law and has been advocating for the immigrant community for over 15 years. When not researching the complicated intersection of immigration law and criminal law, she enjoys time with her family and working on her WWII novel based on her father’s tour of duty. 

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.

Jessica Canter grew up in Austin, TX, and eager to see more of Texas, chose to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio for undergrad where she received her BA in political science with a minor in Russian language and studies in 2011. Unsure of what to do with her degree and with encouragement from her family, she went the law school route where her love and passion for indigent defense sprouted – a passion that grows with every year of practice.  

Venturing outside of the great state of Texas for a little adventure, Jessica received her JD from the University of New Hampshire in 2014. Quick to return to her home state after her short stint on the east coast, she started her career as a public defender in 2015 with the Bee County Regional Public Defender’s Office, a division of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) where she represented juvenile and adult clients charged with misdemeanors to felonies. After a year with the Bee County office, she was promoted to the first assistant where she remained until 2018 when she became the chief of the then-newest TRLA public defender’s office in Hallettsville, Lavaca County, TX. Not only did she help establish the Lavaca County office as chief, but she carried an active felony caseload while leading and assisting a small team of four, which included two lawyers, an investigator, and one mental health case manager. The office accepted misdemeanors, felonies, and juvenile cases, and handled several of their own appeals. Jessica and her team practiced client-centered representation and instituted the holistic defense model to assist clients in matters outside of their criminal case in the hopes of reducing recidivism.  

In February of 2022, she became the Director of Professional Development and Holistic Defense for the new Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office in San Antonio, TX. She was excited to move back to San Antonio, a city she fell in love with while attending undergrad.  

Jessica has been a board member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) since 2018 and was the youngest attorney to be accepted onto the board in its history. She speaks for TCDLA at CLEs on storytelling, openings, closings, and voir dire has been the course director for several TCDLA-sponsored CLEs, is the chair of the Public Defender Committee, and serves on the board for the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project (CDLP). She also serves on the State Bar Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee. She has taken leadership and training courses through Gideon’s Promise, the National Association for Public Defense, and TCDLA.  

Although she has no human children, Jessica is a proud pet parent to two cats, Romeow and Juliet, and the newest addition to the furry brood: a cane corso pup named Lilith. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and working on puzzles, and when she has the time to travel, she loves to hike in New Mexico and Arizona.   

Jessica can be reached at jessica.canter@bexar.org  

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).

Jonathan is a Resource Attorney at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel, assisting attorneys who represent indigent persons and practice Criminal Defense. He practices both trial and appellate law in Federal and State courts. 

Jonathan is a board member of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (SACDLA), and was named one of “San Antonio’s Rising Star Lawyers” in SA Scene Magazine. Jonathan was also recognized by his peers as one of San Antonio’s Best Lawyers for criminal defense, white collar criminal defense, and DWI criminal defense in SA Scene Magazine. 

He began his legal career clerking for Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley while attending law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Following Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley, Jonathan clerked for Hasdorff & Convery, P.C., while awaiting bar results in 2016. 

In 2019 Jonathan joined the Calfas Law Group, PLLC as an Associate Attorney.  There he practiced criminal defense at the Trial and Appellate level in both State and Federal court.  He practiced with the Calfas Law Group, PLLC through August of 2022 when he joined the Bexar County MAC program.   

During law school, Jonathan served as the president of the St. Mary’s University School of Law Criminal Law Association. 

Bar Admissions 

• Texas State Bar 
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas 

Honors & Awards 

• San Antonio’s 2021 Rising Star Lawyer – San Antonio Scene 
• San Antonio’s 2019 Best Lawyers – San Antonio Scene (Criminal Defense – White Collar, Criminal Defense – DWI, Criminal Defense) 
• San Antonio’s 2018 Rising Star Lawyer – San Antonio Scene 
• San Antonio’s 2018 Best Lawyers – San Antonio Scene (Criminal Defense – White Collar, Criminal Defense – DWI, Criminal Defense) 

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.   

Pat Garza is the Director of the Juvenile Division for the Managed Assigned Counsel Office. He is a retired Juvenile Court Associate Judge from the 386th District Court in Bexar County, Texas. In 2001, Garza became Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the area of Juvenile Law.  He is a former Adjunct Professor from St. Mary’s Law School where he taught juvenile law.   

In his 30 years on the bench, Garza presided over more than 61,000 juvenile cases. He is the former Editor of the Juvenile Law Reporter for the State Bar of Texas and was a contributing author for the Texas Center for the Judiciary’s 2020 Texas Bench Book and the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health’s 2020 Texas Juvenile Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Law Bench Book.  

In 2019, Garza was appointed Chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization Juvenile Law Exam Commission.  This Commission was responsible for the writing and grading of the specialization exams for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the area of Juvenile Law.  He is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and is considered an expert and leading authority in the area of juvenile law in the State of Texas. 

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 administrative assistant to 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.  

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. 

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.

Rocky Ramirez is the Law & Technology Resource Attorney 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. 

Chad grew up in Bryan, Texas where he spent most of his time skateboarding, playing soccer, and working in his father’s hot dog restaurant. He attended Texas A&M University and finished with a BA in Philosophy and a minor in Film Studies. Chad married his high school sweetheart while in college and they had their first daughter about a year after graduation. He began working for a non-profit that offered case management and support to people with HIV/AIDS and focused mostly on activism and fundraising. Some years later, Chad decided to attend law school and received a scholarship to St. Mary’s University School of Law where he obtained his JD. He also had a second daughter while enrolled. During law school, Chad became a research assistant for Prof. John Schmolesky who at the time was authoring the Texas Criminal Practice Guide for LexisNexis. Chad always had a passion for criminal defense and quickly became very involved in the field. He clerked for the Appellate Division of the US Attorney’s office in San Antonio and later at the Federal Public Defender’s office. He also attended the Criminal Justice Clinic at St. Mary’s. After he graduated and became a licensed attorney, Chad hung his shingle and joined “the wheel” here in Bexar County. Only one year after her graduated, Prof. Schmolesky, who was wishing to collaborate with Prof. George Dix (University of Texas at Austin) on a new criminal procedure publication for Westlaw, helped Chad take over his current role as the Principle Contributing Author of the Texas Criminal Practice Guide. Chad has been providing three updates a year to the Practice Guide and keeping it abreast of the current case law and legislation since 2011. He passed the authorship to his close friend, colleague, and former law clerk, John Hunter (of San Antonio) in 2021. Chad was active in both the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association which provided him the opportunity to collaborate with many of the best lawyers in the state. Chad has significant experience in every stage of a case, from trial to prost conviction writs of habeas corpus. This experience combined with his wide breadth of knowledge of procedure as well as his familiarity with the current legislation and caselaw that he was required to follow as an author, makes him a great asset to the MAC.