Houston-based Rusty Hardin has become one of the most famous attorneys in the United States. He has successfully represented the accounting firm Arthur Andersen in the Enron scandal; Victoria Osteen, the wife of TV evangelist and bestselling author Joel Osteen; and a client in the estate of Texas millionaire J. Howard Marshall, the deceased husband of Anna Nicole Smith.
Hardin has also represented a long list of professional athletes. On Monday, he added Adrian Peterson to that list.
Here are some of the famous athletes who have shared the defense podium with Hardin.
Attorney Rusty Hardin's Famous Athlete Clients Slideshow
Calvin Murphy
The Basketball Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets star was charged in 2004 with three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and three counts of indecency with a child. The accusers were five of Murphy’s 10 children. Three of the five accusers came from Murphy’s relationship with Phyllis Davidson. Davidson, who died in 1996, left $52,408 in death benefits in a Teacher Retirement System of Texas account to Murphy as the beneficiary. Hardin and his team argued Murphy’s accusers were motivated by money. The trial lasted five weeks before the jury deliberated for about two hours and acquitted Murphy on all counts.
Warren Moon
In 1995, Moon, then a member of the Vikings, was charged with assaulting his wife, Felicia Moon, in Texas. Despite Felicia’s refusal to press charges, Warren was still brought to court and due to Texas law, Felicia was forced to testify against him. Hardin argued the Moons were a normal couple with normal problems, and the incident was nothing more than a normal argument. It turned out the argument was over Felicia creating $160,000 in credit card debt. Acquitted took 27 minutes.
Steve Francis
In 2002, then-Rockets guard Stevie Franchise was charged with driving while intoxicated in Houston. Officer Charles Allen made the arrest after watching Francis turn left at a red light, smelling alcohol and giving Francis sobriety tests. Francis admitted making the left, but did not admit to being intoxicated. Hardin argued, despite Allen's testifying, there was a lack of evidence in the trial. Francis was exonerated after a two-day bench trial.
Rudy Tomjanovich
In the summer of 1994, the then-Rockets coach was pulled over at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday night. Tomjanovich admitted to have been drinking but declined a "field sobriety" test and a Breathalyzer test at the police station. Tapes of the night were reviewed and charges were dropped on a lack of sufficient evidence. Hardin had the case dismissed just four days after its filing.
Wade Boggs
While with the Yankees, Boggs was sued by a Continental Airlines flight attendant who claimed the third baseman had verbally assaulted her on a chartered team flight. Hardin and his team argued the woman had blown the incident out of proportion after not reporting it for three weeks, missing no flight assignments and displaying no need for counseling. With a lack of evidence against Boggs, the jury ruled in the defendant’s favor in under five minutes.
Scottie Pippen
In 1999, as a Rocket, Pippen was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. The forward did not perform well on a field sobriety test and refused a Breathalyzer Test. He was released on $500 bail and Hardin quickly reported at the time, Pippen "adamantly denies he was intoxicated." The charges were soon dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Eddie Griffin
Hardin represented the embattled NBA forward/center, who started his career in the early 2000s with the Rockets, for many years. Griffin dealt with assault charges, a car accident, alcohol abuse and he even crashed a wedding as a Net in 2004. After Griffin's death in a drunk-driving crash, Hardin told the Houston Chronicle, "Alcohol always got in the way."
Roy Tarpley
In 1991, the then-Mavericks forward/center was accused of assaulting a woman he claimed to be his girlfriend. Hardin was among those on Tarpley’s defense team. Charges were dropped after the accusing woman refused to cooperate with prosecutors.
Rafer Alston
The then-Rockets guard was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated in the early morning of an August 2008 night after driving with no headlights on. Early reports indicated an erratic lane change made by Alston, but police later testified he had not been driving out of the norm. Hardin had the DWI charges dropped in a two-day trial.
Roger Clemens
And of course, in Hardin's latest endeavor, he has defended the seven-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher in allegations stemming from the Mitchell Report. Clemens and Hardin have continuously denied all claims that Clemens took part in the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Hardin has fought against claims from Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, and most recently, he had Clemens found not guilty on all counts of perjury brought about by the Department of Justice in a Washington D.C. court.
