About Bradlee Hines
Bradlee Hines Thornton built a career in the criminal justice system that runs from county prosecutors' offices to his own boutique practice. He moved through several public roles before opening his firm. The path shows steady advancement and a concentration on criminal law.
Thornton earned his Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2010. He previously completed a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2005. Those degrees anchored his early work and shaped the practical approach he brought to prosecutorial roles.
His early years in practice were spent as a prosecutor. In 2012 he worked for the Brazos County office. By 2017 he was assigned as a vehicular crimes prosecutor in the Montgomery County District Attorney's office. The file of roles continued to grow. In 2021 he served as chief prosecutor in the 81st Judicial District. Each post deepened his exposure to courtroom procedure, case preparation, and trial work.
In 2022 Thornton launched Thornton Criminal Defense, PLLC and became the firm's owner. That move brought him from public prosecution to private defense. He also operates an Atascosa office for the practice. He is licensed to practice law in Texas and holds Board Certification in Criminal Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential that denotes recognized specialization under state standards.
Thornton maintains memberships in local and state defense organizations. Since 2022 he has been a member of the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Those affiliations connect him with peers who practice criminal defense across differing court levels and jurisdictions in the state.
Colleagues and court records show a practitioner comfortable on both sides of the aisle. Years spent as a prosecutor provide familiarity with how cases are built and argued. Years in private practice require managing client expectations, pretrial strategy, and courtroom presentation. Thornton describes the technical and procedural aspects of criminal defense as the core of his daily work.
He divides his time between client consultations, courtroom appearances, and case preparation at Thornton Criminal Defense, PLLC. He represents individuals facing criminal charges in Texas and continues to practice criminal law in the state.
