From Big Law to the Front Lines: Zack Dunn’s Journey to District 121

In this episode of So You Got Arrested, host Jacob Lindberg welcomes Zack Dunn, a candidate for the Texas House of Representatives and a dedicated prosecutor in the Special Victims Unit. Zack reflects on his upbringing in a military family and how those "every two years" moves built the conscientiousness required to lead. From his time as UTSA Student Body President to the halls of Penn Law and the fast-paced world of New York City corporate law, Zack explains why he chose to return home to San Antonio to fight for the city's most vulnerable.

Inside the Episode

• The "Third Culture" Kid: How growing up on military bases shaped Zack’s ability to communicate and connect with diverse groups.
• Mentors of San Antonio: The lessons learned while working for Joaquin Castro, Ron Nirenberg, and Nelson Wolf.
• Why the SVU Matters: A deep dive into why Zack chose the Special Victims Unit and how prosecuting domestic violence cases serves as a foundation for his legislative goals.
• The 121st District: Zack’s vision for pragmatic, non-partisan leadership that prioritizes public education, veterans, and community safety.

zackdunn.com

Transcript

Why Texas Justice Feels Messy

SPEAKER_03 0:01

The Texas justice system is messy. So let's break it down. You're listening to So You Got Arrested, the podcast that tells you what really happens after an arrest. Hosted by Brick Criminal Defense Attorneys, we talk to the people who've lived it, worked in it, and been shaped by it. Whether you're facing charges or just want to understand your rights, your options, and the smart moves that could change everything, we've got your back.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Hey, so this is So You Got Arrested by BRIC Criminal Defense Attorneys. I'm Jacob Lindbergh. I'm privileged to have my friend Zachary Dunn here with me. Zach, you know, we grew close at our time at the DA's office. For sure. And you entrusted to me early on that, hey, I'm going to be running for the Texas House of Representatives. And it was late at night. You know, you told me I was super excited for you. I said to Dania, my wife, I said, hey, uh, Zach's gonna be running for the Texas House of Representatives. She said, that's great. What is that? So it's something that, you know, not all people know about, something it's a little uncommon. So please, uh, you know, Zach, thank you for coming in today.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Thank you for having me, brother. Thank you. It's an honor to be here today, and I appreciate the time we had the office together and and now, right? Because uh it matters, whether whether we're prosecuting cases together or whether we're uh talking about, you know, my run for the Texas House of Representatives, it matters. And I remember that phone call, and I remember when you first came to the office, man. And uh thanks again for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Yeah, of course. I appreciate it. Of

Meet Zach Dunn And The Goal

SPEAKER_01 1:28

course. So um, you know, we try to make sure that this is accessible for everyone, it's language that everyone knows about, try to break things down for everyone. So uh first just tell us about yourself, where you're from, and who you are.

Growing Up As A Military Kid

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

Yeah, so uh, you know, uh being a military kid, both my parents were were active duty Air Force.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Uh it it changes how you grew up, right? You when I grew up, it was pre-social media, pre uh, you know, access to phones, right, for the most part. So you're moving every two years, and that's a blessing, right? I think growing up in that kind of environment changes you, it teaches you a lot, but it but it can be tough too, right? Because you're you're saying goodbye to your friends every two years and you're picking up and you're starting somewhere new. And so we came here uh to San Antonio on the north side of town back in about 2007, 2008. And so I started at Ronald Reagan High School. I went to Reagan, yeah, it's right there in District 120, which is great. Go rattlers. Uh Reagan was very good to me, right? And I think to have some, I know people that I've just basically military kids where uh they go and they finish half of senior year at a new school. Wow. So I was lucky to have you know sophomore junior and senior year at Reagan High School. Um, you know, my father got out of the military shortly thereafter, and so after Reagan, I went to the University of Texas at San Antonio, it's right down the street. Sure. Uh my mom had worked at UTSA, my sister went to UTSA, and so I wanted to go to UTSA.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Well, you so you're a military family, um younger or older sister? Older. Yeah. So you and your oldest sister. She'll tell you. You guys are moving around. And so, I mean, as a military family myself, I was born in North Carolina at Fort Bragg, um, kind of moved around a lot, at least early on. My dad got out early, but you know, I think that those things create strengths in us and that you meet so many different people throughout that at such a young age that now you're kind of able to communicate, you're kind of more uh melt moldable to whatever it is and wherever you are, to any situation. Would you feel you had that?

SPEAKER_02 3:37

I think you're right. I think the tough thing is, especially as a kid, you're you're always on the outside, right? You're always a third culture kid, you're always looking, looking into a new culture, a new environment, people that have established friend groups or ways of doing things. And so it's again, it's a blessing, right? Yeah. You get the opportunity to see the world. You're your parents are wearing the uniform, they're they're serving their country, it's meaningful. But I think as a young kid, it's tough, right? Definitely. It has its challenges too. Again, when when we're growing up, pre-so media, pre-phones, pre-everything, it's like, you know, you're saying goodbye to these people sometimes and you're you're never gonna see them again. And it, I think you're right, it changes you, it shapes how you think about things. And and even if all of us, right, we all have to be better communicators, it's something you're never gonna be perfect at. At the very least, I think it makes you conscientious. You're conscientious when you walk into a room, you're conscientious when you're in a new environment, you're conscientious with how you approach people because you have to be. Yeah. And so I think it is one of the most important factors of like how I grew up and how I see the world, and either how I did things at Reagan, how I did things at UTSA, or or certainly as a as a prosecutor or whatnot. So I agree. It's dispositive for um it's dispositive in that it's an opportunity and it's kind of what you do with that opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Yeah, whereas it was tough then, of course, there's a lot of struggles, you know, you have during that time. But at the end of it, I see I grew from it and are a better person because of it. For sure. Um, so Ronald Reagan High School, uh, that's within the district that you're running. That's right. Yeah. So you're kind of going full circle. Kind of going full circle.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

You know, it's funny, my my high school English teacher, she taught both my sister and myself. Um, I it was definitely not the preferred student, especially in that two-person comparison. So uh, but she she's in my district. Wow. Uh so again, it is full circle in a lot of ways. This is this is where I grew up. Yeah. Right. And so to be a military kid, and and again, I went to UTSA and then I was kind of gone on a on an East Coast adventure after that for

UTSA And Learning Through Mentors

SPEAKER_02 5:40

a few years. Um but let's talk about that. Yeah. So you went to UTSA, what were you studying? UTSA, I studied business. And first internship was with Congressman Joaquin Castro. He was a congressperson representing that area. Uh, I got lucky, I applied, so I went to DC and worked for him. That was my like first initial, if you will, foray into politics, working with Congressman Castro.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

And you went to Washington, D.C. with him.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

I went to D.C., worked in that office, learned a lot on the hill, learned a lot from him, his staff, everybody just went above and beyond to be there for me and to teach me. And I and I owe him and that office everything. That was my start. Um, after my time at Congressman Castro's office, towards the end of my UTSA career, I then uh interacted and met with a candidate for District 8 City Council. Uh I remember when they first had the layout for the debate they were gonna have. I was like Ron Nuren something. And uh ended up being, of course, Ron Nurenberg.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Pretty recognizable stuff.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Absolutely. But back then it was his first, they had a candidate debate at UTSA for his first run, and we met and certainly became fast friends, somebody that um leads with integrity, great guy.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Um came to be mayor and is going to be now be our county judge next.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Yeah, he's the Democratic candidate. Absolutely, and and um, you know, putting together a great campaign for sure. And you know, he he was kind of the next opportunity I had, right? Someone that took me under his wing, someone that uh whose office, him specifically, the time that I had there showed me so much, right? This is an office that I learned a ton in, right? So to have that opportunity to start in DC and learn from someone as experienced, ethical, amazing, just a leader through and through when no one's looking like Joaquin, to then have that same experience with Ron, right? In the public behind closed doors, these are men that uh I'm just so thankful I had the opportunity to work for. And then I capped it off. I had kind of a third experience that I think I got lucky. I worked for uh Nelson Wolf back when he was Bear County judge. Yeah. So three very and again, that office too, right? I'm a broken record, but this is a man that lives with integrity. Door closed office meeting, out in the public giving a speech. He had all that experience, both as the mayor, Bear County judge, his time in the legislature. This is somebody, too, that I just learned so much from. And the three of them, I think, kind of changed the direction of my life, right? When Nelson Wolf is giving you real-world experience, politics or just being a good person, being a good man, right? Uh, trying to be an involved member of your community, that that alone could change your life. And it did. And then to have that coupled with Ron and to have that coupled with Joaquin. Uh, those gentlemen changed everything for me. Uh, I I would not be sitting here today genuinely if I had not met those three, worked for those three. There would be no run for the Texas House of Representatives. Um, I'm honored to kind of have them to have them be there for me, to have them teach me, mentor me. And again, I would not be here without them.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Wow. Yeah. And I mean, those are great models to look at learning so young, right? Being in undergrad and kind of on the cusp of ending undergrad, being able to learn from such great members of the San Antonio community as a whole, um, that have brought so much great change. And so you worked with Joaquin, obviously in DC, but then though both of those are pretty local positions, they're extremely local positions, and doing things kind of specific to Bear County or San Antonio. Um, did that kind of help give you, I guess, a different perspective of great large scale of Texas to this? You bet.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

I think to have you have three members of the community, all with different paths. Right. Each one of them had different life experiences, different paths to their their leadership, how they serve, right? They they all have similarities, right? Definitely. Ethical, men that lead, they're the same person again, whether in a meeting by yourself or you're speaking in a group of hundreds, they're the same people, that type of authentic leadership that I think people crave, right? You want somebody that you know is going to be there, especially when times get tough. And, you know, they all share that, but they're all very different. So again, to your point, it's like whether it's federal, whether it's state, whether it's local, no matter what the path is that got them there, I felt very lucky to get that experience so young because it kind of shaped again the whole course of my life.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

And I hate to boast for you, but there's gotta be, I gotta get it out of you. There's something specific at UTSA that got you those positions. Tell us, tell the people what you did to

Student Government And Earning Opportunities

SPEAKER_01 10:07

get those kinds of positions. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

So uh that's crazy. So at UTSA in the beginning, and you can ask the people that I went to class with there. You could, you know, a lot of those people are so and sanitary, my best friends for life. Yeah. In the beginning, I really didn't know where I fit in. So I did nothing. I woke up, I went to school, I went home. And I I truly had no involvement. And I remember talking with my mother, and I was like, look, you said college was gonna be this like great experience, and I don't I don't see it. Um boy am I not having a good time. And uh she was like, Well, how do you expect to get anything out if you've put nothing in? I said, Okay. Uh I looked up every single student organization. At the time, there was almost 400 registered student organizations at UTSA.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

I went through all 400 of them and looked at like which ones I would be maybe interested in. One of them was the Student Government Association. And a lot of student governments, you know, they could do snow cones on a Saturday, right? Which is great. You you want to be there for the student body, make things light or whatever. The UTSA Student Government Association, they were like, Yeah, we'll we'll do snow cones on a Saturday, but then we're gonna go up to Austin and we're gonna talk about Hazelwood for our students here at UTSA that are either military dependents or military service members. I thought, well, that's that's meaningful, that's different. So joined student government, and then I ran for student body president of UTSA twice. And it worked out both times, and and that was certainly an opportunity that again changed my life. That was the opportunity to meet Joaquin, to meet Ron, to meet to meet uh Nelson, all those gentlemen. That opportunity came about because of the work, the time, the effort, the energy, and the experience I got from being in student government, being student body president, kind of having that role on the state.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

That work you put in ended up paying dividends on the back end. Even today. Definitely. Even today.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

There are people that I met in 2011, 2012 when I was running for student body president, or hadn't just been elected. And it's a you're in college, right? You're student body president, it's you're young, you're learning, you're involved in things. But there are people that I met then that have been instrumental in my campaign today, or friends that I rely on today, or people that I have sought their advice or counsel leadership from today. So yeah, paid dividends for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

And so you had mentioned you went to the Northeast for law school. Where did

White House Internship And Penn Law

SPEAKER_01 12:34

you go? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

So after UTSA, I did a short stint. I got the opportunity to intern at the White House, which was you know, obviously a life-changing opportunity. It was the tail end of the Obama administration. So that taught me a lot, right? You're surrounded by brilliant, brilliant people from across the country.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

And was that through under a specific person, or was that kind of just White House generally staff?

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Just like White House generally staff, they had basically 16 divisions that you could end up in as an intern. And so huge operation. It's a it's a great opportunity, right? You're you're meeting people again from across the country that are very similar to you and they're motivated and driven, but dissimilar. They grew up in different areas, different goals, dreams, visions for their respective communities. So did that. And then from the White House from DC, I went to the University of Pennsylvania for law school. And and Penn was certainly a school that uh changed my life, right? I think this is the theme of today, it's just opportunities that that changed my life. Yeah. And Penn was uh an incredible opportunity, right? To to be a part of that atmosphere, to be a part of some of the smartest people I've ever met in my entire life, day in and day out. It it changes you.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Definitely. Yeah. And so, I mean, the change things that have changed your life. We're talking about who you are, where you come from, and things you do. I think those are definitely life-changing aspects that build who we know today to be Zach Dunn. And so it's certainly important. Um, we're coming right up on our break now. We want to hear more about law school, but we'll talk about it right after. Sounds great.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

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SPEAKER_01 14:31

So we're back with Zach Dunn, and we started talking about just all these life-changing things. What brought us to know Zach Dunn as he is now? Uh, you were telling us about going to Penn. That is Ivy like Ivy League, isn't it? Yes. Someone like me that didn't go to an Ivy League school, can't even pronounce it.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

That's all that's all on the flood. Hey man, I'm like, I went to UTSA. And and uh, you know, it's it's it's awesome. We we had an event at UTSA a couple of years ago, and they brought in like four lawyers. And and uh of the four of us, I I was the only one that went to UTSA. Oh, really? And the other the other three lawyers that were there, you know, uh they went to all all kinds of grade schools. Right. And the person that was uh kind of putting the event together, she was like, Oh, like, you know, are you sure like you know where to park? Like, are you sure like how yeah how are you gonna like talk to like the kids from UTSA? Like, you know, you you know she was very complimentary, very, very generous with her perspective on Penn. And I was like, hey, I uh I went here. I come here.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

I I went to live down ten minutes away.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

Yeah. So yeah, P Penn was fantastic. And and there was actually a student in my class year, or I apologize, the class year after me also went to UTSA. So really yeah, a wonderful opportunity to just meet some some local people that had the opportunity to just take a different direction of their life, right? Penn extended that um that that admission, that ticket, and and I took it and never looked back, and I just felt like this this could be special, this could be different. This is a school that I um was never on my radar. So uh the fact that it did show up, it was meant to be if I could go back and do life all over again, I would go to UTSA and I would go to Penlaw.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Wow. Yeah. And uh Penn Law, did they have a student government that or I was just wondering if they had a program or something like that, a group, something you could be involved in? Anything like that? I know our friends, man. You did your research. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Uh yeah, so wow. So basically, yes, uh, at Penn, uh they had elections for basically their student body president for the law school. Uh you do you do it per class year, right? You do it for your class. Every class is so individualized and specific, a little bit, a little bit different than what you do at UTSA, where you're representing the whole campus. For Penn, you have you have the whole student body election, but it's for your class year. You know, who is going to be the president of the class of of 2019? Uh, it worked out. You know, I threw my hat in the ring and and that worked out. So very dissimilar from being student body president at UTSA. Different student body, different populace, different goals, dreams, ideas, thoughts that the class has. Um but yes, that's true. Yeah, that was a great that certainly I think was also a huge catalyst just for my legal career specifically, because you're you're meeting with your classmates, you're meeting with people across the campus, you're meeting with people in Philadelphia, you're meeting with local and government leaders, whether they state, local, federal, whatever it might be, um, as per the position of like representing your class. Uh, so that was, again, the theme of just a wonderful opportunity to have in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

And so uh Penn Law, I'm sure that was fantastic,

NYC Biglaw And The Air Force Detour

SPEAKER_01 17:40

brought a tons of opportunity, I'm sure, after graduation. Uh, what was the next step for you after that?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Next step for me, you know, I I basically at Penn they have something called on-campus interviews. If you're not a lawyer, you're never in a law school. What it is is the school will say, Well, look, we've got great talent here, law firms in the area or or across the East Coast or whatnot, or anywhere. Why don't you come to our campus and we'll make it really easy for y'all to interview them? Sure. And so did that. And uh a woman changed my life. There was a firm uh back then, they're still around firm Freed Frank, but back then for me, there was a firm called Freed Frank, and they were the best summer program in the country. And I thought, well, they're not gonna take a guy from San Antonio, they're not gonna take Zach Dunn. And I met a friend there and he said, Well, hey, why don't you come by and talk to the Freed Frank table? And I said, Look, man, I I I deeply appreciate it, but like I'm not what they're looking for, right? Like, they want the best of the best, and like I I'm I love what I've done. They don't want the student body president, please continue. And uh I was like, Look, man, I I'm honored that you'd even ask. Like, they're they're such a great firm, like they there's so many great classmates I have that you gotta go to them. He goes, Yeah, okay, fine. Well, leaves. Comes back at the end of the day, hours later, and he's like, Look, man, you have to come back and talk to Fried Frank. And I was like, Look, man, I again, like, I'm I really appreciate it, but um they're there's they're such a caliber, such a high caliber firm. And he goes, give me three minutes, give me five minutes. And if it's a waste of your time, just walk out. What do you have to lose? I thought, okay. Uh go back to talk to the Freed Frank people, and that was it. Uh I met a woman there, Nancy Parker, that changed my entire life. She was the person that was responsible for recruiting and kind of building the next class, the next generation of Freed Frank attorneys. Yeah. Um, she specifically changed my life on a dime. Uh three to five minute conversation with her, the opportunity to speak with the associates of the firm that were there. Uh, that that literally overnight, uh within a couple of minutes, truly uh changed everything for me. So I got the offer to work at Fried Frank, and that is where I went to work after I graduated from Penn Law.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

And so graduated from Penn Law. Where was Fried Frank? Where did you work?

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Freed Frank is in New York City. So a lot of firms are in kind of like the midtown area. Freed Frank is kind of in the financial district, yep. And it's kind of right there in the southern tip of Manhattan. So the firm has been around forever. Great people. That is again, like I said, if I could go back and start everything over, UTSA, Pen Law, I would start my legal career at Freed Frank. Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Well, and then you brought that experience, you worked in New York City, and you ended up back in San Antonio. What was that process? How did that happen?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Yeah, so basically, long story short, enjoyed my time at Fried Frank, loved it. And there was an opportunity to work as a civilian with the Air Force. And that was a very specialized opportunity because my parents, right, had both, like I had mentioned. So I did that, and Freed Frank was overwhelmingly supportive. I did it was like a short program through the Air Force. I did that, loved it. And from there, that was where I knew two things. I want to practice law and I want to, I want to go back home. I want to go where I'm from, right? Especially being a military kid, you move every two years. Yeah. San Antonio's home, right? My first job was here, Reagan High School is here, UTSA is here, my best friends are here. So that is how I ended

Back Home To Prosecute Special Victims

SPEAKER_02 20:58

up at the Bear County District Attorney's Office. And that has just that job has been the best job I've ever had. I mean, I I loved working at the Air Force. I love being a freed frank, but being in my hometown working for essentially what is our special victims unit. Okay. Uh I could do this every single day for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yeah. And you mentioned, okay, so you came to the district attorney's office. There's a bunch of different divisions. We've had people on before, for example, the chief of our division that we worked in, Mellie Powers. Um, and so there's all these divisions. What made you pick the family violence division or the spectrum special victims unit like you picked?

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Yeah, the special victims unit for me is, I think unequivocally, the most difficult cases you can have. Right? These are crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault, mostly against women and children. You have the most vulnerable population in San Antonio. And those cases are hard to prosecute, they're hard to prove, and there's nothing I'd rather do. Uh you know, the other crimes, the other divisions do meaningful work. And they keep our community safe. But again, with that special victims unit, that's an opportunity to look at the most vulnerable among us, the people that have been through the worst among us, uh, crimes that are horrific. And you can't change what happened. The crime happened. That's how the file ends up on your desk. But you can say, okay, well, I've been personally lucky enough to receive a great undergraduate education at UTSA. I've been fortunate enough to go to a fantastic law school like Penn Law. I was lucky enough to cut my teeth at freed Frank and in with the Air Force. Let me use the blessings I received. Let me use those opportunities that I've been given. Let me make proud all of the people that took risks and opportunities on me, and let me help those members of our community. So I love it, man. I I love that job as you know. And like I said, I could do that job for the rest of my life. This there's nothing like it.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

It's what makes you want to wake up in the morning. Absolutely. And, you know, we were given those options. You interview, you talk with the district attorneys, maybe the different division chiefs, and you're able to kind of make a decision at the end of the day, they choose for you. But you're given that option. And I chose family violence as well. Of course, that's how we met. And, you know, it's not that the drug cases and those things aren't important. They are extremely important, but they're not something that I necessarily feel for. My heart isn't pushing or jumping to prosecute those kinds of crimes. Whereas these ones, when you've got that person that is a specific person that was horribly harmed, and this is the most important thing, they potentially don't have resources to get the help, to be there to help. And you know, you have that direct connection not only with that person, but it feels like the whole community when you're doing that kind of prosecution. Uh, I couldn't agree more. And so um, at your time at the office, I mean, what have you been doing? What kind of where did you start? Where did you go? Where are you now?

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Yeah. So basically started at the office and I started in a misdemeanor trial court. So, and especially coming from the role of of the Air Force, where you're kind of helping with military law operations as a civilian and kind of just supporting our troops in various ways, whether they're deploying or what capacity you may be assisting in that day. Certainly as a corporate transactional attorney in New York, I had no courtroom experience and zero. And the office really makes sure that you have what you need to succeed, right? Great co-workers, great judges on the bench that are gonna, you know, kind of walk you through the things you need to do. Uh so I started in a misdemeanor family violence trial court. I did that for a while and then, you know, was fortunate enough to be promoted to the felony team. And I got early trial experience, right? It's one of the hallmarks, I think, of being a prosecutor, being a trial lawyer is getting that trial experience, right? So it's where you are uh basically the last line of defense for um, and I get the language of you're a prosecutor, but it's the last line of defense in that you're representing the state of Texas, your case file is on your desk. Again, we can't change the fact that these crimes happened. All we can do now is take the resources, the training, and the opportunities we've been given, and and can we get justice for this person? Right? Because we take an oath, right? Not to pursue convictions, but to pursue justice. Right. And the office lives by that mantra, and certainly in our special victims unit, there's no other way to approach the job. So I got a lot of trial experience early and you know, learned a lot, learned from great attorneys across the board, right? These are people that took me under their wing, these are people that showed me tricks of the trade, people that refined how I present or how I go about my thinking on cases. And so I've been doing that. It's almost been about four years now that I've been at the office. So almost the entire time I've been in our special victims unit. And whether you're in a trial court or whether you're in intake, kind of building the indictments and being the people that present to grand jury, all of it is an opportunity to, I think, serve your community.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Definitely. Yeah. And I think you hit it right on the nose. You know, a lot of the prosecutors there are so willing to help. The older ones, right? When we were first kind of starting out, we did it together. Uh, you know, they help you see that justice is done. And so that having those people to help is fantastic. Um, and I think we were lucky in that when we came in and we're kind of first getting it, getting into those misdemeanor trial courts, was that it was right after COVID. And so these courts were opening back up the backlog, these cases that have been sitting there dormant, nothing happening to them for a year, year and a half of COVID times, uh now needed trial. And those judges were not gonna wait for us. Those cases are gonna be closed out and go to trial. And so you and I had, we were thrown into that fire. We had the support and the team behind us, but it was a lot. There's a lot of cases coming down the pike, and we had to take care of them.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

No, you're right. And I think the thing for me too is that you can't change the the greater circumstance, right? You join the office when you do, it happened to be post-COVID. Yep, okay, it's gonna be tough. Okay, those dockets are moving. Okay. You can either kind of let yourself be crushed under the weight, or you can reach out to your friends and peers and colleagues that have done it before and say, hey, and I did it. Hey, uh, this case, this case has this particularity or this this nuance. What would you do? What would you say? Hey, this argument was made in court today. I didn't quite understand it. How would you have responded to that? Be it with your peers, be it with your leadership, be it with the judges that are sitting on the bench after these things have taken place and the dust has settled, and you go back in the next week and say, What'd you think of that? What'd you think of that argument? What'd you think of how what would you have done differently? Right. Defense attorneys. Hey, I'm I'm young, I'm learning, I'm trying to grow, I'm trying to present the best cases possible. I want to have the best resolutions for real justice in the community. And you were a prosecutor, uh, when you know when you're speaking to them, um, what'd you think of this? What'd you think of that? And whoever gives you advice, take it.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

You agree with it? Great. You don't agree with it? Okay, let it refine how you think about things. So, no, yeah, we were thrown into the fire, and uh, I'm very thankful for that.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

And I think it's really great to see now that prosecutors are going to you, you're now the guy that they're coming to you, knocking on the door, saying, Hey, we've got this nuance, we've got this issue, we've got this particularity, help us out. And so I really enjoy when I see that. Um, and that I'm sure it feels good on your end. But uh to get into it, you know, you're running for

Post-COVID Court Backlog And Growth

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Texas representative for the 121st district. Where is that? And why did you choose to run? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

You know, the Texas House of Representatives in District 121 is a district that basically encapsulates kind of the Alamo Heights quarry area, if you will, kind of cuts up to 281, and then it kind of encapsulates the Stone Oak kind of North San, kind of northeast quadrant of San Antonio, if you're thinking about it in general terms. Sure. Sorry, I'm from right. My my high school was in this area, my my folks are still in the area.

Why Run For Texas House 121

SPEAKER_02 28:53

And you know, when you're a special victim junior prosecutor, you're representing you're representing the state of Texas, but you're serving your community one victim at a time. And there's nothing more meaningful than that, right? Full stop. However, if you have an opportunity to serve every resident of your community, right? Whether it's whether it's respect to public education or or veterans' affairs or economic issues or community safety, what a special opportunity that that could be. So I see running for the Texas House as an extension of the work that I've been doing in the special victims unit as a prosecutor. It's an extension of that service, right? But instead of representing one victim or individual at a time, you're serving the whole district. And it's a very special time, I think, to run. I think people are are craving real, pragmatic, thoughtful leadership. Uh being from this community and having the experiences I've had, I believe we bring that to the table in spades.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Wow. And you know, there's been, you said how difficult and how it's the right timing. What kind of makes it the right timing?

SPEAKER_02 30:04

I think you have a district uh that is kind of looking at real leadership and or looking for real leadership, looking for again that kind of pragmatic leadership and and people are hurting, right? People are hurting across the state, people are hurting across the country, people are hurting across our local community. We see that, right? And we see that on a daily basis. I see it. Even with respect to the special victims unit, I hear about the other issues these people are facing uh in a pretrial or or in their lives in general, right? Whether things have become more expensive, or whether they feel left behind, or whether they feel like uh their public schools are not being given the resources that they want, or if they're a veteran and they feel like their community hasn't support or their state hasn't supported them as best as it can. It's time, in my opinion, for that pragmatic, thoughtful leadership. And so to be from this district, to be from this community, to day in and day out essentially serve individual members of the public, that's what makes it the right time. That's what makes it to where, again, I'm thankful for the opportunities I had on the East Coast, but this is why I came back. Right. Right? I'm thankful for everything they taught me, for everything I learned, for every friend, mentor, boss, colleague that looked after me and said, I got you. Okay, thank you. Now I'm gonna take that blessing and I'm gonna tell the members of my community, I got you.

How To Reach The Campaign

SPEAKER_01 31:26

And if members of your community wanted to find you, wanted to reach out, uh, where can they find you and where can they reach out to you? Yeah, the website is zakdun.com.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Z A C K D U N dot com. And, you know, my number and my email are right there on the website. Great. And we want to meet the community where they are. This is a campaign that is extremely focused on on that language, on that, on that um meaningfulness to meet people where they are. So you have a question, concern, idea, thought, suggestion, uh, you want to talk, you you certainly will find me through those channels. Again, it's ZachDunn.com, and my number and my email are right there on the website.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Wonderful. Well, that's done for the 121. This is Zachary Dunn on So You Got Arrested with Brick Criminal Defense. I've been Jacob Limberg. Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_03 32:16

Thanks for listening to So You Got Arrested. If you found this podcast helpful, share it with someone who needs to hear it. For more legal insights and real talk from the front lines of the Texas justice system, follow us and subscribe. And remember, Brick Criminal Defense has your back. For more information, visit us at brckdefense.com.