Chuck Lindell writes, "Fellow judge says Keller violated procedure in death row case," for today's Austin American-Statesman. Here's an extended excerpt:
The trial on misconduct charges against Sharon Keller, the state's top criminal judge, began Monday with pointed criticism from one of Keller's colleagues — and one surprise revelation.
Judge Cheryl Johnson, called to testify by the prosecution, said Keller violated Court of Criminal Appeals procedure in 2007 by unilaterally denying defense lawyers the opportunity to file execution-day briefs after 5 p.m.
"She should have directed (the request to file late briefs) to me," said Johnson, who had been assigned by rotation to be the only judge expected to handle execution-day phone calls, faxes and filings from lawyers for the inmate, Michael Richard.
"And I would have told them that they could file," Johnson said. "It's an execution. They might be valid pleadings. I have no other way of knowing."
Johnson, however, said she didn't learn about the request for more time until four days after Richard was executed — an account contradicted in parts of a witness deposition revealed Monday.
"I was upset by it. I was frustrated," she said. "And it made the court look bad."
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates wrongdoing by judges, has charged Keller with denying Richard his right to access the court system and with bringing discredit upon on the judiciary. Keller's trial on the potentially career-ending charges is expected to end by Thursday.
Monday's surprise revelation came in opening statements when prosecution and defense lawyers discussed the pretrial deposition of Ed Marty, who was the court's general counsel when Richard was executed on Sept. 25, 2007.
Marty had called Keller at home about 4:45 p.m. that day to say Richard's lawyers were asking for more time to file briefs. Keller refused.
Marty's questioning has been eagerly anticipated for what it would reveal about that conversation. But when he was deposed Aug. 6 — later than other witnesses in the case because he now lives in Alabama — Marty testified that he also discussed the lawyers' request for additional time with one other judge, Johnson, before 5 p.m.
The revelation is potentially significant, indicating that Keller did not act alone to deny the request and that court rules had been followed.
But Johnson contradicted Marty's recollection, testifying that he came to her office shortly before 5 p.m. "and told me nothing had come in," she said, adding that he never mentioned a phone call from Richard's lawyers.
And Austin lawyer Mike McKetta, acting as prosecutor for the misconduct charges against Keller, noted that Marty's recollection differed from his previous testimony in the case.
"Especially watch, in the video deposition of Ed Marty, three stories (develop) ... and his candor that he really doesn't have a good memory," McKetta said.
Lindell was the reporter who broke the story of the Keller order. He's also blogging at the Statesman's Focal Point blog.
"Texas Judge Goes to Trial Over Execution," is the New York Times report by Michael Brick.
The highest-ranking criminal judge in Texas, the woman who presides over the most active execution chamber in the country, sat at a defense table on Monday to face charges of intentionally denying a condemned man access to the legal system.
The judge, Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, took her seat before a gallery crowded with bloggers, lawyers and death penalty protesters. Outside the courthouse, demonstrators called for her ouster. Inside, lawyers on both sides emphasized that capital punishment was not on trial.
But to some, Judge Keller has come to embody the practice. An intensely private former member of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, she won election to the court in 1994 and to the post of presiding judge in 2000. She has cultivated a reputation for rulings favorable to the prosecution in death penalty cases.
And:
As the story behind the execution spread, defense lawyers, editorial boards and legislators called for Judge Keller’s removal. In February, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct filed formal charges. The case was assigned to a special master, Judge David Berchelmann Jr. of the district court here in Bexar County, for the civil fact-finding proceeding that opened Monday.
In written arguments, the commission contends that Judge Keller circumvented normal procedures, which provide for after-hours appeals in capital cases. Judge Keller responds that the lawyers for the inmate, Michael Richard, a convicted murderer who made no claim of innocence, should have filed their paperwork with the assigned duty judge rather than trying to go through the clerk’s office.
The Dallas Morning News carries the AP report, "Judge Sharon Keller could take the stand today in her disciplinary trial."
"Texas judge who shut door on a death row appeal is on trial for misconduct ," is the USA Today On Deadline post by Doug Stanglin.
Craig Kapitan writes, "Judge's hearing begins amid protests," for the San Antonio Express-News.
Earlier coverage begins with this post; the State Commission on Judicial Conduct's original complaint.
Comments