About James Angelino

A long and distinguished career as both a police officer and a prosecutor allows Jimmy to bring a unique level of expertise in the area of criminal defense.

Originally from New York State, Jimmy began his legal career as a police officer for the City of Dallas in 1988. Not long after becoming a police officer, Jimmy decided to attend law school. In 1991, Jimmy attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) School of Law, while continuing to work for the police department. Jimmy graduated law school in 1994, became a member of the State Bar in 1995, and continued working as a police officer until 1997.

That same year, Jimmy began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Denton County, Texas. Jimmy was one of the office’s most successful trial attorneys, only losing four cases in his 11+ years as a prosecutor. In those 11 years, jimmy has tried every type case, from a traffic ticket to murder. Jimmy also maintained his Texas Peace Officer’s License, continuing his career as a law enforcement officer in Texas.

Due to the complexity and focused knowledge a prosecutor must have to successfully prosecute intoxication offenses, Jimmy identified the need for a specialized position in the Denton County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute these types of cases. In 2000, Jimmy wrote drafted a grant proposal that funded a DWI Prosecution Unit, which consisted of a prosecutor, an investigator and a paid intern. Jimmy was awarded the prosecutor position, which started in 2001. The Denton County District Attorney’s Office was the second office in Texas to have a unit specifically focused on handling Intoxication Offenses. As the Chief Prosecutor of this felony prosecution unit, Jimmy began spending a lot of time not only training both fellow prosecutors and police officers in Denton County, but prosecutors and police officers from across the country.

Jimmy maintains memberships in many organizations across the country, and he is also a Retired LTC in the United States Army Reserve JAG Corps. He was mobilized to active duty in January 2003 where he spent 16 months on active duty. Jimmy was sent to Tikrit, Iraq for a 6 month tour where he defended soldiers accused of misconduct. During this time, Jimmy was the lead attorney on 21 Courts Martials. For his service, Jimmy was awarded the Bronze Star, The Army Commendation Medal, The Iraqi Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.