Michael P. Heiskell is the owner of the firm Johnson Vaughn & Heiskell in the Fort Worth/Dallas area. As a former state and federal prosecutor his practice focuses of criminal defense-primarily white collar. He also represents civil rights litigants. Michael is past President of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Galveston County Young Lawyers Association. He is former Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Northern District of Texas and Trustee of the Bar Foundation. In 2015 he was elected to the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s Hall of Fame.
In 2020 he was selected as the recipient of The Blackstone Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the Tarrant County Bar Association. Michael is a graduate of Baylor University and the Baylor University School of Law.
Featured Products
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Pozner on Cross: The Chapter Method (7-Hours)
Pozner on Cross: The Chapter Method, is a 7-hour masterclass that teaches a structured approach that organizes cross examination into short, fact-based, story-driven chapters. The method enables lawyers to maintain control of the witness, secure key admissions, and present facts with clarity and precision. Designed for use under the stresses of trial, the course provides practical tools for writing and delivering effective cross examinations with confidence. The techniques of Chapter Method cross-examination work regardless of the field of practice, or the level of a lawyer’s experience.
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It's Not Just Voir Dire: How to Communicate & Convince Juries
This program helps defense counsel to uncover juror beliefs, challenge biased jurors for cause, preserve credibility with judges, and build persuasive narratives for trial. You'll also explore cutting-edge research and emerging technology—from social science insights about race and bias in juries to new tools for focus groups and mock trials. Master your techniques in authenticity, storytelling, and emotional intelligence in the courtroom, while reinforcing foundational principles like the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt throughout jury selection and trial.
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Criminal Evidence Disclosure & Admissibility Handbook
This handbook covers a wide range of crucial topics, including defending against the admission of 404(b) evidence, challenging bad character evidence, and litigating the admissibility of expert testimony. It offers a deep dive into the requirements of Brady and Giglio and uncovering discovery violations and exculpatory evidence before trial. With dedicated sections on digital evidence, forensic analysis, informant disclosures, and suppression hearings, this guide arms defense attorneys with the tools necessary to combat unreliable or improperly admitted evidence.
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Cross-Examination: Science & Techniques - 4th Edition
Considered the go-to authority for more than 30 years, Pozner and Dodd’s Cross-Examination: Science and Techniques has trained generations of trial attorneys to turn cross-examination into their most powerful courtroom weapon. Its Fourth Edition is now available. This first new edition in seven years adds important material on how to use opening statements to pre-sell your cross-examinations, change the focus of the case, and make your best chapters dominate deliberations—plus a full chapter on cross-examining the crying witness. This is the book that changed how cases are tried.
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Defending Sexual Assault Cases: A Comprehensive Trial Manual
Defending Sexual Assault Cases: A Comprehensive Trial Manual is not another sex crimes book—it is a strategic operations plan for dismantling narrative-driven prosecutions, built around how jurors actually decide sex crime cases rather than procedural checklists. It explains the moral risk calculus jurors face, the emotional architecture behind verdicts, and how prosecutors win through narrative stacking rather than proof. Most importantly, it shows you how to give jurors a morally defensible path to acquittal.
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Pozner's Red Book on Cross: Lessons in Advanced Cross-Examination
This compact handbook brings together over 20 of Larry Pozner’s most powerful cross-examination articles, covering core principles and advanced strategies for witness control, impeachment, chaptering, and framing reasonable doubt. Packed with scripting examples, real-world scenarios, and tactical insight, it shows how to press or pivot with purpose, drop weak points, and keep cross disciplined. Whether dismantling an officer’s account, challenging an eyewitness, or exposing investigative gaps, Pozner’s field manual delivers courtroom-ready tools to win.


