Steven Rocket Rosen, a Houston-area defense attorney. (Courtesy photo)

Steven Rocket Rosen, a popular defense attorney from the Houston area who rose to the heights of his profession by winning a number of high-profile "not guilty" verdicts for his clients, many of whom were on death row, died on the morning of Jan. 14 after battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, for the past two years. He was 64 years old.

Rosen is survived by his wife, Robin Rosen, and his four daughters: Jorden Maljovec, Courtney Rosen Kovach, Portland Rosen and Darby Rosen.

Rosen was a board-certified criminal law specialist and a former prosecutor in Texas, shifting to private practice in Fort Bend County late in his career. He was also a 1980 graduate of South Texas College of Law, licensed to practice law in Texas and was admitted to all state courts in Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

During his career, he defended many cases ranging from DWI to capital murder. According to his law firm's website, he was a guest on many national TV shows such as "Good Morning America," "Larry King Live," "Connie Chung," "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," "Geraldo Rivera Show," "The Dan Abrams Report," "The O'Reilly Factor," and "Court TV."

Rosen was best known for his representation of two members of the Branch Davidians, said John T. Kovach, his son-in-law and law partner.

"That's the thing everybody talks about, the Branch Davidian case in Waco," Kovach said. "Rocket represented two of them and that really got his career rocking. He was very proud of his work on the Branch Davidian case and he told a great story about it."

"Rocket was basically relentless during his cross-examination, and everybody told him to calm down and to not be that zealous, but he went wild in the federal courthouse and the judge admonished him, and the other defense attorneys basically ostracized him," Kovach said.

"And when they came back from lunch, the sheriff, I believe it was, broke down and left a note on Rocket's desk, where he confessed that maybe he misrepresented the defendants, then all of a sudden the judge came back, and there is actually a picture of the federal judge making Rocket sit in his chair and Rocket yelling back at the federal judge to apologize! And that picture's in Rocket's office; he told me he was still friends with that federal judge in Waco!"

In summarizing Rosen's 38-year legal career, Kovach said he believed his father-in-law tried 13 capital murder cases.

"This may be more than just about anyone and he defended 13 capital murder cases where they were seeking the death penalty," Kovach said. "Rocket was anti-death penalty."

Kovach also said he believed Rocket helped Andrea Yates, a former resident of Houston, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001.

"I remember going to his house at Christmastime and him having a card from Andrea—and that was right when I first started dating Courtney—and I remember thinking, 'What in the world?' But he always said she was a sweet woman."

Becoming a Well-Rounded Person

Rosen was born on the 4th of July, and, as a result, his legal middle name really was "Rocket," Kovach said.

"He was also a really great athlete, and I can legitimately say he was one of the best athletes who was also an attorney. He might be No. 1 and anyone in Houston knows that," Kovach said. "Rocket is a member of the flag-football Hall of Fame and the Amateur Athlete Hall of Fame."

According to his law office website, Rosen is also recognized for his involvement in the lives of youth ranging from juveniles in the court system to Special Olympics and operating a sports camp for girls.

"He loved the law, and the South Texas College of Law, and anybody that came by the office, he was always friendly with them," Kovach said.

"Rocket always helped out the students and went to their mock trial competitions," Kovach said. "He was a very humble for a man for the level of fame he achieved."

What Made Rocket a Top Defense Attorney?

Paul Nugent was one of Rosen's good friends. The two went back 40 years and they worked on cases together as criminal defense attorneys.

"Rocket was a trial lawyer's trial lawyer. No exaggeration, he probably tried more than 100 jury trials," Nugent said, "and probably has between 60 and 80, maybe 90, two-word verdicts. A lot of people get the 'guilty' part, but you need the 'not' in front of that to get the two-word verdict you want."

Rosen was a workhorse. He tried all kinds of cases—civil cases, divorce cases, capital murder cases, according to Nugent.

"He was incensed at injustice and the imbalance of power the prosecution has, and he just had a huge heart. He gave all he had for the underdog," Nugent said. "In a courtroom, the criminal defendant is always the underdog, so he just railed against the power structure."

"He was very moving when he spoke before a jury, Nugent said. "He didn't talk like a lawyer, he talked like a regular person and would share his concerns and fears. He would even cry sometimes in court. He was a very genuine, very emotional, very persuasive trial lawyer. He didn't follow the rules because there are no rules in how to win a trial and each trial he said depends on the 12 people in the box and not some formula."

He Loved the Law and Houston

There was a capital murder case in Waxahachie, Ellis County—the Ludwig case—he tried himself, said Nugent.

"No one tries a capital murder case alone, but Rocket spent two months alone in Waxahachie with no help and he got a hung jury and they tried the case again and he saved that man's life," Nugent said.

"There is not a trial lawyer in the state of Texas today that will try a death penalty case alone in another county, but Rocket was a workhorse, he was very bright and he was a fighter and juries loved him," Nugent said.

According to Nugent, the best advice he ever received from his friend was after he'd had a tough case.

"Rocket wouldn't just give advice, he'd shout it," Nugent said. "He commanded me to stand up for my client!"

"Now you can watch trials and it takes 20 minutes to figure out who's the prosecutor and who's the civil defense attorney because there's such a lackluster spirit by the defense," Nugent said. "But Rocket was a fighter. I saw him pick a jury once, years ago. He stood up and told them, 'My name is Rocket Rosen, I was born in Miami Beach and I'm Jewish, does anyone have a problem with that?"

Nugent said Rosen's family was from South Florida and his father was the mayor of Miami Beach. Rocket went to the University of Florida in Gainesville and then went to Houston to attend South Texas Law School.

"He loved it here and decided to stay," Nugent said. "What we got was a trial lawyer who tried capital murder, misdemeanor, divorce and civil cases. Those are becoming part of a bygone era because there aren't many lawyers who can try anything, but that's what Rocket Rosen was."