Commissioner Lesley Briones is thrilled to announce the appointment of Aisha Dennis to the Harris County Public Defender’s Board. 

With a decade of litigation experience, Dennis brings great care, diligence, and tenacity to her cases. As a former trial assistant federal public defender, she has served as lead counsel on hundreds of federal criminal cases, securing numerous dismissals and other favorable results for her clients. She has also served as a staff attorney for the Fourth Amendment Center of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers where she provided nationwide litigation assistance to fellow attorneys in cases involving technologies and surveillance tools that infringed upon constitutional rights.

Dennis has handled both state and federal appeals, with her first ever court appearance being an oral argument before the North Carolina Supreme Court. She started her legal career in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Dennis went on to clerk for the Honorable James E. Graves, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Dennis obtained her law degree from New York University School of Law and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Prior to attending law school, she taught high school economics and U.S. history in Atlanta, Georgia with Teach for America. Dennis is licensed to practice in Texas and North Carolina. When not in the office, you will likely find her on the tennis courts, jogging, practicing yoga, or enjoying live music.

Established in 2010, the Harris County Public Defender's Board hires and manages public defenders to represent indigent persons charged in the misdemeanor, felony, and juvenile courts of Harris County.