Editor’s note: Stories such as this one and more appear on KBRN 103.9’s “Boerne Brew” 8 a.m. Saturdays and are archived on Mondays at boernestar.com.
A seasoned prosecutor has joined her spouse at the Kendall County District Attorney’s Office to form a husband-and-wife team dedicated to seeking justice.
Gretchen Flader is the newest of seven prosecutors under Kendall County Criminal District Attorney Nicole Bishop.
Flader’s husband, Nick Socias, has been the special victims prosecutor assigned to the 451st state District Court since 2017.
Longtime residents say this may be the first instance, at least in recent memory, that two spouses have simultaneously served as assistant district attorneys in Kendall County.
Previously, Flader handled several different caseloads in Harris County for years before moving to the Hill Country and taking a job in Bexar County as the first chair, handling murders and capital murders.
“I was driving 45 minutes to an hour one-way, to and from, every day (to San Antonio). Then, on big traffic days, it would take longer,” Flader said, adding the lengthy commute is what motivated her to seek a job closer to home.
She added, “We have two small children, and I decided that my sanity was needing more flexibility, and I just couldn’t take the traffic and the drive anymore.”
Having just wrapped up her first jury trial in Kendall County, Flader said the “difference is very big and noticeable” when it comes to local jury pools compared to her previous stomping grounds.
Socias, too, kicked off his career in Harris County, where he and Flader worked alongside each other before moving to jobs in Bexar then Kendall counties.
Socias met his future boss – Bishop – while both campaigned for the district attorney’s seat. He said there were no hard feelings after the election, and Bishop brought him to the team.
While the co-parenting attorneys were partners during Flader’s first local felony trial last month – in which a 52-year-old Boerne resident was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on a charge of sexually assaulting a child – the two say they have very different prosecuting styles.
Their views on separating work from personal life vary some, too.
“I actually think it’s pretty easy,” Socias said. “We both handle pretty heavy stuff, so it’s not like we get to go home and talk about it. … I handle child abuse. And if you go back to when we were in Houston or San Antonio, she handled capital murders and murder cases. So, it’s not really good, home dinner talk.”
Flader said there’s little time for shop talk when they’re at home caring for their 3- and 4-year-old children.
When nap time rolls around or the kids go to sleep at night, the two do find themselves prepping together or hosting practice runs for each other.
“While our children are awake, we really focus on them,” Flader said with a chuckle. “But, I think it is nice to have a fellow prosecutor who understands the job and who understands the cases to be able to bounce ideas off of and talk through things.”
In terms of courtroom styles, the two agreed Socias is a “think-on-hisfeet” attorney while Flader is more of a planner.
The heinous crimes they have tried, especially those involving child victims, can influence their private life and how they protect their offspring.
“Yeah, it absolutely does affect how we look at people and what we allow our children to do,” Flader said.
She recalled the local case the two tried together, noting testimony indicated the parents of the victim allowed a stranger to stay in their home. The veteran prosecutor said she and her husband would have serious concerns if they saw even a close friend in their children’s room.
“What can we do? How do we make sure our kids are safe?” Flader said. “Honestly, we will never leave them alone with individuals.”
She continued, “That’s just never going to happen. We’ll always be there to watch them, and I think that is a direct result of all the things that we have seen and all the things we have watched children have to experience.”
However, their work also allows them to teach their kids about what really goes on in the world, showing that actions — for good or ill — have real-world consequences.
The recent felony case marked only the second time the two were co-prosecutors in spite of years sharing a workplace, but the couple said they make a good team.
“I felt like it was really easy because I knew how you operated,” Flader said, turning to look at her husband. “I knew how you thought. And you knew the way I operated and the way I thought.”
She added, “And it made it easier to try it together because you knew I knew what I was doing.”
Socias said their shared trust is an asset during a trial, especially when handing off a witness during crucial testimony.
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