John Michael Economidy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 28, 1944. His father, Byron G. Economidy, Sr., was a Galveston lawyer who, as an Army 1st Lieutenant, was killed in World War II at Aachen, Germany on April 13, 1945. His mother, Genil Wharton Economidy, was a registered nurse who specialized in psychiatric nursing care. He grew up in the northwest Texas farming and ranching town of Seymour. He moved to nearby Wichita Falls, Texas in 1959 and was graduated from high school there in 1962.
Established San Antonio Office
A Distinguished San Antonio Law Office
Criminal Defense and Military Law
Licensed in Texas since 1974.
A long-standing San Antonio practice known for criminal defense and military law, built on more than five decades of steady work and professional continuity.
A sole practitioner in San Antonio since 1984, with a practice in criminal defense and military law.
About
John M. Economidy
Pronounced E’-kahn-O’-mid-E’
Education
He then attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he was graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1966 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government in 1967. The UT student body elected him editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan, the nation’s largest college newspaper, for 1966–67. The major campus news story during his editorship was the UT Tower shootings by sniper Charles Joseph Whitman, who killed 15 persons and wounded 34 on August 1, 1966.
Military Service
Economidy was commissioned as a 2d lieutenant through Air Force ROTC in 1967 and for the next four years served as a management analysis officer with the 15th Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill AFB, FL; the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing “Wolf Pack” at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand in 1969–70; and at HQ Ninth Air Force, Shaw AFB, SC. He additionally served as public information officer for the “Wolf Pack” in 1970. As a PIO, his base newspaper was selected by HQ Pacific Air Forces as the best of 26 base newspapers in the Pacific command. He has flown as a backseat photographer in F-4E, F-104B, and AT-33 jet aircraft.
He left the service in 1971 and received a law degree at Texas Tech University School of Law, and, after being admitted to the Texas Bar, he re-entered the Air Force in 1974. As a judge advocate, he served as claims officer, 56th Tactical Fighter Wing, MacDill AFB, FL; Area Defense Counsel, Langley AFB, VA; Staff Judge Advocate, 42d Bomb Wing, Loring AFB, ME; Chief of Military Justice and Preventive Law and Legal Advisor to the Air Force Security Police Academy, Air Force Military Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX; and Chief of Military Justice, HQ Twenty-First Air Force, McGuire AFB, NJ. He left the Air Force in 1984 as a Lt. Colonel after 14 years of active duty. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with cluster and Air Force Commendation Medal with 4 clusters.
Legal Practice
He has been a sole practitioner in San Antonio, Texas, from 1984 to the present. He defended clients in a number of major state and federal felonies, including 67 homicides, RICO, drug conspiracies, fraud, sex crimes, and internet crimes. As a civilian attorney, he defended soldiers, sailors, and airmen in over 65 litigated courts-martial and nine military appeals. He was lead trial and appeals attorney in Clinton v. Goldsmith, 526 U.S. 529, 119 S. Ct. 1538 (1999) (All Writs Act), which he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court; United States v. Flannigan, 31 M.J. 240 (C.M.A. 1990) (law enforcement exception for use of drugs by undercover agents); and Woodrick v. Divich, 24 M.J. 147 (C.M.A. 1987) (ROTC cadet not subject to UCMJ).
The TV show JAG used his Goldsmith case for a plot line. Another of his cases, one involving Münchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy (injury to a child by mother to gain attention from health care providers), was highlighted in an hour-long documentary on the Woman’s Entertainment Channel. He obtained victories in five capital murder cases. He also has served as a special prosecutor when appointed District Attorney Pro Tem in a voting case and in a capital murder case.
Recognition
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) has certified Economidy as a criminal law specialist, 1986–2022. Then, he resigned from TBLS. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory has annually given him its highest AV peer rating since 1990. Texas Monthly Magazine rated him as a “Super Lawyer” in criminal law (2005 and annually from 2008 to 2022).
Birds of Prey
He has a strong interest in birds of prey. From 1988 to 1997, he was chief observer of the Coastal Bend Hawk Watch, Hazel Bazemore Park, Corpus Christi, Texas. He also was Texas Regional Editor of Hawk Migration Studies. He researched range, status, and distribution for The Wheeler Guides: Raptors of Western North America and Raptors of Eastern North America, Princeton University Press, 2003, which was the winner of WorldTwitch 2003 as the best bird book in North America. He did range maps for Birds of Prey in the East and its Western companion book. He is author of the non-fiction Wolf Pack: Valor and Virtue, 1969–70.
Practice Focus
Criminal Defense and Military Law
Criminal Defense
A sole practitioner in San Antonio since 1984, he has defended clients in major state and federal felonies, including 67 homicides, RICO, drug conspiracies, fraud, sex crimes, and internet crimes. He obtained victories in five capital murder cases and has served as District Attorney Pro Tem in a voting case and a capital murder case.
Military Law
A former Air Force judge advocate who left the service as a Lt. Colonel, he has defended soldiers, sailors, and airmen in over 65 litigated courts-martial and nine military appeals. He argued Clinton v. Goldsmith before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Professional Standing
Recognized Over Decades of Practice
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization certified Economidy as a criminal law specialist from 1986 to 2022. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory has given him its highest AV peer rating annually since 1990. Texas Monthly named him a Super Lawyer in criminal law in 2005 and annually from 2008 to 2022.
Legacy
A Professional Legacy Built Over Time
A law office built over decades carries a character of its own. In a profession often defined by turnover and constant reinvention, long continuity suggests something rarer: steadiness of practice, seriousness of purpose, and a reputation that matures over time.
A rare continuity in the modern legal profession.
Publications
Wolf Pack: Valor and Virtue
1969–1970 · By John M. Economidy
Wolf Pack: Valor and Virtue offers a concise history of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, tracing its distinguished Pacific service and focusing on its Vietnam-era interdiction mission from Thailand under Colonel Donald N. Stanfield. Written by the Wolf Pack’s former public affairs officer, the book highlights the unit’s innovation, specialized air operations, and the courage and sacrifice of the men who served.