Stories from the Vault

In this episode of the Truth & Justice League podcast, Mark Mueller tells the story of how he navigated jury selection, religious bias, hospital media efforts to prejudice the jury, and a bogus claim of tampered videotape evidence. He also describes addressing a courtroom packed with nuns and priests brought in for the closing arguments, as he wins this birth injury trial case for his client and her brain-injured son.

30 years ago in Austin, Mark Mueller worked on a case that garnered national media attention. This historic, policy changing case, is a tragic story of assault, appearance bias, wrong doing by the District Attorney and lasting trauma to the defendant.

Mark’s first trial was not typical. In his early 20s, he found himself in Orange, Texas. This sundown town was known for its hostility toward Black residents. Mark defended an 18-year-old charged with assaulting a police officer during a house party raid. The charge carried a possible sentence of 99 years.

During jury selection, Mark confronted the racial bias directly, asking potential jurors if they had ever used the N-word and requiring them to explain their answers in court. Nearly half the panel was removed. The result was the fastest not-guilty verdict in Orange County history. It was an unusual and defining start to a career in law.

Some places aren’t just land—they’re identity, history, and soul. This episode revisits a landmark legal fight to protect sacred Blackfoot land from powerful outside interests. Using sharp legal strategy and unshakable cultural resolve, the tribe and its allies stood their ground to defend what could never be replaced. A story of resistance, sovereignty, and the unbreakable bond between people and place.