The StandDown Texas Project

Texas Legislative Roundup

"Texas Lawmakers to Discuss Repealing Death Penalty," is Chris Tomlinson's AP filing, via KXAS-TV.

Texas lawmakers will hear testimony on a bill to repeal the death penalty.

A Democratic lawmaker from Houston has introduced the measure, and the House Criminal Justice committee will consider it on Monday.

Rep. Jessica Farrar and some other Democrats have repeatedly called for an end to the death penalty. But the ultim ate punishment remains popular in Texas, and her measure is unlikely to gain traction.

More on Rep. Farrar's House Bill 1703 is at the Texas Legislature Online website.

The San Antonio Express-News reports, "Texas House OKs review of wrongful convictions," by Michelle Casady.

It had been nearly a 10-year struggle, but last week, with little opposition in a 115-28 vote, the Texas House passed legislation that would allow for the creation of an exoneration commission to review wrongful convictions.

HB 166, authored by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, is championed by some legislators and innocence project groups as a step forward for the state. Texas is among the leaders nationwide in wrongful conviction cases, with 119, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

But some prosecutors worry about unintended consequences of the bill, including conflicts of interest stemming from the proposed private and grant funding of the commission and even the end of the death penalty in Texas.

Justin Wood, an assistant district attorney in Harris County, told a House panel he opposed the bill that would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Commission — named after a man wrongfully convicted of rape in Lubbock who died in prison in 1999 but was given the first posthumous pardon in the state.

And:

House passage of the bill came a week after the Senate unanimously approved SB 1292, which would require mandatory DNA testing in cases where the defendant faces the death penalty.

The bill's author, state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said he's gotten similar bills passed by the Senate two times before, only to later see them die.

“You never declare victory on a piece of legislation until it's on the governor's desk and you have a pretty clear indication he's going to sign it,” he said of the 31-0 vote. “That being said, even when it did pass in previous years, it certainly was never unanimous.”

McClendon credited a new era of “civility” in the House for her bill's bipartisan support.

Jordan Smith posts, "One Step Closer to Preventing Wrongful Convictions," at the Austin Chronicle.

House Bill 166, authored by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Com­mis­sion, named for a man who died in prison while serving time for a sexual assault he did not commit. The commission would be tasked with reviewing criminal cases where there has been a formal exoneration, in an attempt to find the root causes of the wrongful conviction and to make recommendations for avoiding future miscarriages of justice.

Backers of the measure have tried to move the bill through in previous sessions without success. This time around, with a wealth of bipartisan support, the measure is in much better shape. Nonetheless, backers on the House floor were faced with a number of probing questions, mostly from Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, who took issue with some language within the measure: Why would the commission not be subject to sunset until 2025, he asked, and why does the bill mention "wrongful execution" if this is about wrongful convictions? An amendment by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, reduced the time to sunset to eight years, or 2021. As for the wrongful execution language, Leach – who has signed on with Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, as a joint author of the bill – said the idea was to prevent all wrongful convictions. Indeed, among Texas' confirmed wrongful convictions are those who were sentenced to die, but who escaped that punishment – including Anthony Graves and Clarence Brandley.

More on Rep. McClendon's HB 166 is at the link.

"Texas Prosecutors No Longer Unassailable," is Ross Ramsey's excellent analysis at the Texas Tribune.  Here's the beginning:

An elected prosecutor used to have one of the most respected jobs at any level of Texas government.

District attorneys were often big personalities — the courtroom muscle of the criminal justice system, the people showing up on TV to play out the real-life version of “truth, justice and the American way.” Candidates for Texas attorney general — an office with almost no duties in criminal law — have tried to capture the crime-busting aura of prosecutors for years. It was strong stuff in a political arena.

Running a political campaign against a sitting prosecutor in Texas was a job for egotistic dunces and legal-minded Quixotes. Even weak DA’s were invincible.

But a strange thing is happening in the impervious ranks of high-profile Texas prosecutors. That cachet is taking a beating.

One prosecutor is in jail. A former district attorney is facing charges related to sending an innocent man to jail. One county spent nearly $400,000 settling a sexual harassment charge against its DA. Another prosecutor is fighting contempt of court charges after refusing to testify in a prosecutorial misconduct inquiry.

Earlier coverage from this year's Texas legislative session begins at the link; also available, coverage of the Ken Anderson Court of Inquiry.

Judge Ken Anderson Charged with Misconduct

"Ken Anderson charged with misconduct during 1987 Michael Morton murder trial," is Chuck Lindell's report posted at the Austin American-Statesman.

Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was arrested and booked into jail, then quickly released, for the “intentionally harmful act” of hiding favorable evidence to secure Michael Morton’s 1987 conviction for murder, the court of inquiry found.

“This court cannot think of a more intentionally harmful act than a prosecutor’s conscious choice to hide mitigating evidence so as to create an uneven playing field for a defendant facing a murder charge and a life sentence,” District Judge Louis Sturns ruled.

Sturns found probable cause to believe that Anderson broke two state laws and committed criminal contempt of court, then ordered Anderson to be arrested.

"Ex-Texas DA Faces Charges for Man's Prosecution," is the AP report by Michael Brick.

A Texas judge on Friday ruled that a former district attorney acted improperly when he prosecuted an innocent man who spent nearly 25 years in prison for his wife's slaying and ordered his arrest on criminal contempt and tampering charges.

Judge Louis Sturns, of Fort Worth, issued an arrest warrant for Ken Anderson for his handling of the case of Michael Morton. Sturns said there was sufficient evidence that Anderson was guilty on all three charges brought against him: criminal contempt of court, tampering with evidence and tampering with government records.

And:

During the weeklong Court of Inquiry, the special prosecutor, Houston defense attorney Rusty Hardin, presented witness testimony and other evidence to show Anderson kept evidence from Morton's attorneys at his trial.

The special court is a rarely used hearing that is held when officials or public servants are accused of wrongdoing. The process is similar to a grand jury proceeding, but people can defend themselves against the evidence presented.

Among the evidence Morton's attorneys claim was kept from them were statements from Morton's then-3-year-old son, who witnessed the murder and said his father wasn't responsible and interviews with neighbors who told authorities they saw a man park a green van close the Morton home and walk into a nearby wooded area before the slaying.

The Texas Tribune posts, "Court of Inquiry Ends With Arrest Warrant for Anderson," by Maurice Chammah.

Judge Louis Sturns concluded his court of inquiry by charging Anderson, who is now a state district judge, with tampering with government records (a misdemeanor), tampering with physical evidence (a felony) and failing to comply with a judge's order to turn over such evidence, for which he could be held in “contempt of court.”

The rare court of inquiry, in which arguments were made in February, was held to determine whether Anderson, a former district attorney, committed criminal misconduct during the trial that led to Morton’s wrongful murder conviction. Morton, who was in attendance for Friday’s decision, spent nearly 25 years behind bars for his wife’s murder before he was exonerated.

Sturns said that Anderson purposefully concealed evidence from Morton's defense attorneys, hiding reports that neighbors had seen a green van outside of the Mortons’ home and a phone transcript in which Morton's son was said to have told his grandmother a "monster" murdered Morton's wife.

Rusty Hardin, the special prosecutor in the court of inquiry, told reporters that Anderson would turn himself in at the Williamson County Jail on Friday afternoon, and that he would have to pay a $2,500 bond for each of three separate counts.

Earlier coverage of the Court of Inquiry begins at the link.  Related posts are in the Michael Morton category index. 

The responsibility of the state to provide exculpatory evidence to the defense was articulated in the 1963 Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland; more via Oyez.

Criminal Discovery Legislation Clears Texas Senate

The Austin American-Statesman has published the editorial, "Texas Senate’s attempts to limit wrongful convictions commendable."

Its passage wasn’t as sure as it should have been, given that it was as much a no-brainer as any piece of legislation could be, but this week the Senate finally and unanimously passed the Michael Morton Act.

Morton was on hand for the occasion Thursday. He stood, as the American-Statesman’s Chuck Lindell reported, in a Capitol corridor while holding the gavel Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst had used minutes earlier to announce approval of the legislation named in his honor. The vote, coming 18 months after Morton’s release from prison, was 31-0.

It’s hard to imagine opposition to a bill designed to prevent wrongful convictions by requiring prosecutors to share crucial information with defense attorneys, but the Michael Morton Act appeared doomed Wednesday until a delicate compromise, prodded along by Dewhurst, appeased concerns by district attorneys that the bill threatened the safety of witnesses and victims in some cases. So lawmakers added a few restrictions to shield some identities.

Point taken on protecting the potentially vulnerable. Now the House should follow the Senate’s lead and pass the Michael Morton Act.

Let's begin news coverage of the vote with the Statesman report, "Senate passes Michael Morton Act," by Chuck Lindell.

Wednesday’s intense negotiations — including not-so-gentle prodding by Dewhurst, who gathered all the parties into a room in the afternoon and told them not to emerge without an agreement — produced a breakthrough on victim and witness information that saved the legislation.

“It feels very, very good of course, but I know we’re not through. We have the other side to go through, the House,” Morton said.

State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a highly respected 20-term Democrat from Houston, will shepherd the bill through the House.

Morton will be there, too, hoping that the agreement forged by prosecutors, defense lawyers and a half-dozen senators will find relatively easy acceptance.

The Texas Tribune posted, "Senate Unanimously Approves Michael Morton Act," by Brandi Grissom.

A year and a half after he took off his prison whites for the last time, exoneree Michael Morton stood in the Senate beside his wife, Cynthia, on Thursday as lawmakers in that chamber unanimously approved a bill named in his honor that aims to prevent others from being wrongfully convicted. 

"Had this been in place when I was arrested, I probably wouldn't have gone to prison," Morton said shortly before senators passed Senate Bill 1611, by Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock. It would require prosecutors to turn over evidence to defense lawyers in criminal cases.

"Michael's tragic case brought to the forefront something we already knew in Texas," Ellis said. "Our criminal discovery process in Texas needs serious reform."

And:

Today — as in 1987 when Morton was tried — prosecutors aren't required by state law to provide evidence to defense lawyers unless ordered to by the court. Though many Texas prosecutors have some form of open file policy, those procedures vary from county to county and sometimes even within a district attorney's office. In a February report based on a survey of more than 40 prosecutors' offices, Texas Appleseed and Texas Defender Service, both justice advocacy organizations, found that "lack of uniformity in discovery policies in Texas makes access to justice dependent, in part, on where a defendant is charged."

Since his release from prison, Morton has been on a mission to see the implementation of laws that help prevent wrongful convictions like his and that hold prosecutors accountable when their decisions result in innocent people losing years of liberty. The Senate has already approved SB 825, by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, which would extend the statute of limitations for offenses involving evidence suppression by district attorneys. Under current law, the four-year statute of limitations begins ticking on such offenses when they occur. Whitmire's proposal would begin the clock on the statute of limitations at the time a wrongfully convicted defendant is released from prison. That measure is awaiting a hearing Monday in the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence.

"Senate OKs bill to share DA case files with defense," was the AP filing written by Will Weissert, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The Senate unanimously approved the Michael Morton Act, named in honor of a Texan who spent nearly 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit and designed to prevent future wrongful convictions.

After their vote Thursday, senators stood and applauded and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst banged a specially engraved wooden gavel that was later awarded to a beaming Morton, who watched the proceedings from just off the floor -- a long way from the prison cell he was sitting in two years ago.

The measure now heads to the House for consideration.

Dallas Morning News editorial board member Rodger Jones posted, "Michael Morton Act passes Senate unanimously," on the Views blog.

Ellis, a Houston Democrat, co-author with Sen. Robert Duncan, Republican of Lubbock, credited Morton for using his “life’s tragedy” to lobby strongly for the bill, SB 1611.

The legislation updates, broadens and clarifies the access defense attorneys have to case files compiled by prosecutors. Morton spent nearly 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, but has maintained in court that the DA kept vital information from him. Morton was freed after DNA tests cleared him in 2011, despite years of efforts by the DA’s office to keep evidence away from him for testing.

Ellis told the Senate that he thought months of work on the bill was lost a few times, especially in the last week, after Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, began lobbying for changes after the bill already emerged from committee. One key to breaking the impasse, I’m told, was Dallas Sen. Royce West, a former prosecutor, who got involved in a come-to-Jesus meeting among negotiators on Monday.

"Ken Anderson court of inquiry resumes April 19," is from the American-Statesman.

A moment of truth for district court judge Ken Anderson is expected to arrive April 19, when the court of inquiry investigating his alleged wrongdoing reconvenes.

At 1 p.m. at the county’s Justice Center in Georgetown, Judge Louis Sturns is to hear closing arguments from attorneys, as he considers whether Anderson – in his prior role as district attorney – withheld evidence during Michael Morton’s 1987 murder trial. The judge has three issues to consider: whether Anderson tampered with physical evidence, if he tampered with a government record and/or he committed contempt of court.

If Sturns rules Anderson did any of these, it’s possible Anderson could face misdemeanor or felony criminal charges, but Sturns would also have to rule statutes of limitations have not passed.

The court of inquiry – which was first in session Feb. 4-8 – is not an actual trial.

“This is like a public grand jury proceeding and the judge is like the sole person on the grand jury,” one lawyer familiar with the case said this week. “He [Sturns] can say, ‘This should go forward [for prosecution].’ The standard for that is, ‘Is there probable cause?’”

Throughout five days of February testimony, special prosecutor Rusty Hardin produced witnesses who testified as to what they did and did not know before and during Morton’s February 1987 trial.

Earlier coverage of the Texas criminal discovery legislation begins at the link; also available, more information from this Texas legislative session, coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration, and the Anderson Court of Inquiry.

Ken Anderson Court of Inquiry Concludes

"Anderson inquiry played to 2 audiences," is Chuck Lindell's report for the Austin American-Statesman.

Theatrics peppered with scornful bickering punctuated former prosecutor Ken Anderson’s court of inquiry last week as each side played to two audiences — the judge who will decide Anderson’s fate, and the public that has watched the Michael Morton saga unfold for the past 18 months.

Attorney pro tem Rusty Hardin set the tone early, much to the annoyance of Anderson and his legal team, by announcing that, before the court convened, he had provided the former district attorney with a copy of everything he planned to introduce as evidence.

And:

Sturns won’t rule on the case until at least April. If he finds reason to believe that Anderson violated state law in his prosecution of Morton, he is required to issue an arrest warrant, the first step toward a potential trial on criminal charges.

"Ken Anderson's Testimony Caps Dramatic Inquiry" is Brandi Grissom's Texas Tribune report.

Friday’s dramatic and at times awkward testimony marked the crescendo of a week of emotional testimony in a case that has gripped national headlines since August 2011, when DNA showed Morton was innocent.

The case has become an example among those who advocate for criminal justice reform of why prosecutors ought to be held accountable for mistakes that cost innocent people years in prison. A finding by the court of inquiry that Anderson committed criminal violations could result in the arrest of the former Williamson County district attorney.

And:

Morton said his impression was that Anderson accepted no responsibility for the injustice he suffered.

"I was hoping for more," he said. "I think we saw someone who is still struggling with denial and anger."

Earlier coverage of the Anderson Court of Inquiry begins at the link.

February 8th coverage includes, "An emotional Anderson has his day in court," in the Statesman; "Drama Erupts as Anderson Court of Inquiry Nears Its End," in the Tribune.

February 7th coverage was, "Anderson court of inquiry hearing peppered with testy exchanges," in the Statesman; "Morton Calls Anderson's Inquiry 'Road to Accountability'," in the Tribune.

February 6th coverage was, "Colleague: Ex-DA worked to keep notes from defense," in the Statesman; "Anderson Inquiry Continues With Former Asst Prosecutor," in the Tribune.

Court of Inquiry in Second Day

The Austin American-Statesman reports, "Lawyers spar over documents in Anderson inquiry," by Chuck Lindell.

Riveting testimony by Michael Morton, and sharply worded battles over evidence, punctuated Monday’s opening of a court of inquiry that is examining whether former prosecutor Ken Anderson improperly hid evidence that could have helped Morton defend himself against a murder charge in 1987.

One of the most intense exchanges was sparked when Rusty Hardin, acting in a role similar to prosecutor, moved late Monday to introduce three documents that were newly discovered in files kept by Anderson when he was Williamson County’s district attorney.

Hardin said the documents, when combined with other records that he had presented earlier, showed a “pattern and practice” of withholding favorable information from defense lawyers, contradicting Anderson’s claims that he always disclosed such evidence as required by law.

“The file is replete with stuff they should have let the defense attorneys have,” Hardin said. “This is three more things in the DA’s files that should have been tendered to the defense. The fox doesn’t get to guard the henhouse.”

"Inquiry Day Two Begins With Judge Questioning," is the Texas Tribune coverage by Brandi Grissom.

On the first day of Williamson County state district Judge Ken Anderson's court of inquiry Monday, Michael Morton spent more than five hours on the witness stand, getting emotional at times as he hashed over the mistakes that led to his wrongful murder conviction and almost 25 years in prison.

“Going through all of that again was difficult, but necessary," Morton said before leaving the court. "I’m glad the process has finally started.”

Anderson, the former prosecutor who secured Morton’s conviction, is the subject of a rare court of inquiry that could lead to criminal charges. Morton and his lawyers allege that Anderson withheld critical information during the 1987 trial that sent him to prison for life for his wife’s murder. Anderson and his lawyers say that the prosecutor committed no wrongdoing in the case, that the judge in the case was ordered to only disclose a limited amount of information and that the statute of limitations on any alleged violations has expired.

Some of the most emotional testimony came early in the day when Hardin asked Morton about the nearly 25 years he spent in prison.

Earlier coverage of the Court of Inquiry begins at the link.

Court of Inquiry Convenes

Brandi Grissom is liveblogging the Court of Inquiry examining Judge Ken Anderson's actions when he was the Williamson County District Attorney and his prosecution of Michael Morton.  She also has an introduction to the liveblog at the Texas Tribune.

A rare court of inquiry begins today in Williamson County and will examine the role of former prosecutor Ken Anderson in the wrongful murder conviction of Michael Morton. Anderson, now a state district judge, faces potential criminal charges for contempt of court and tampering with official documents. Lawyers for Morton, who was released from prison in 2011 after spending nearly 25 years incarcerated for his wife's murder, argue that during the 1987 trial Anderson deliberately withheld evidence in violation of a judge's order.

Rusty Hardin, a former Harris County prosecutor turned high-profile defense lawyer, will act as special prosecutor in the case. He will present evidence to Judge Louis Sturns, who will oversee the unusual court process and eventually decide whether Anderson should face charges. Lawyers for Anderson will also present evidence, which they argue in legal documents will prove that their client did not violate the judge's order. They also contend that the statute of limitations has expired on any alleged violations. 

Anderson has apologized for the criminal justice system's errors in the Morton case, but has maintained that he committed no wrongdoing.

"Morton’s Murder Conviction Comes to Define Anderson," is Grissom's preview published in the Texas Tribune and the Texas edition of the New York Times.

Growing up in the 1960s, Ken Anderson admired the great trial lawyers in movies: Gregory Peck in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Spencer Tracy in “Inherit the Wind.” The good guys who broke down lying thugs on the stand.

“In reality, I don’t see much brilliance in the courtroom,” Mr. Anderson wrote in his 1997 book, “Crime in Texas: Your Complete Guide to the Criminal Justice System.” “Trials are won and the truth is exposed because of detailed, painstaking preparation done before the first witness is sworn in.”

In 1985, at age 33, Mr. Anderson became the Williamson County district attorney. He held that job until Gov. Rick Perry appointed him a district judge in 2001. Mr. Anderson prosecuted hundreds of criminals, earning a reputation for persuading juries to assess harsh penalties.

One of those cases has come to define Mr. Anderson over the last year and a half as the antithesis of the truth seekers he admired. He will sit at the defense table Monday, facing a rare court of inquiry that will determine whether Mr. Anderson, now 60, should face criminal charges for his role in the wrongful murder conviction of Michael Morton. Mr. Morton, a grocery store manager, served nearly a quarter-century in prison for murdering his wife. DNA testing led to Mr. Morton’s exoneration in 2011.

Mr. Morton’s lawyers say that Mr. Anderson withheld evidence that not only pointed to their client’s innocence but allowed a murderer to remain free.

Today's Los Angeles Times reports, "Texas judge faces 'court of inquiry' into wrongful conviction." It's by Molly Hennessy-Fiske.

A Texas judge who prosecuted a man wrongfully convicted of murder and freed after serving 25 years in prison faces an unprecedented court hearing Monday on whether he should be prosecuted for mishandling the case.

Williamson County District Judge Ken Anderson faces a “court of inquiry” to address allegations that he lied and concealed evidence — in violation of the law and a judge’s order — that could have cleared Michael Morton, who was convicted in the 1986 beating death of his wife, Christine, at their Williamson County home.

Morton was exonerated and released almost a year and a half ago, after DNA tests confirmed his innocence and another man, Mark Alan Norwood, was charged in connection with the killing.

Morton is testifying Monday, his attorney told The Times.

Anderson has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Eric Nichols, a former prosecutor with the Texas Attorney General's Office, declined to comment to The Times ahead of the hearing.

A “court of inquiry,” part of Texas law since 1965, has usually been used to examine allegations against elected officials, never to address suspected misconduct by a prosecutor. Some hope this week’s hearings lead to a greater examination of alleged prosecutorial misconduct that has led to wrongful convictions not just in Texas, but nationwide.

“There is no doubt that the eyes of Texas are going to be on this proceeding,” said Kathryn Kase, executive directror of Texas Defender Service, a nonprofit that trains and assists lawyers who represent death row inmates. “Bad forensic science is not the only reason people get wrongfully imprisoned, and we have to be dedicated to trying to stop that.”

The Austin American-Statesman is also posting live updates, "Anderson court of inquiry set to begin," by Chuck Lindell, who has been covering the Morton case since 2008.

Michael Morton, who will testify today, is in the audience with his fiancee, Cynthia Chessman. They’ve been together for a year and will be married next month. Morton is sitting with most of his lawyers, including John Raley, Gerry Goldstein and Barry Scheck, the co-founder of the Innocence Project.

The family of Debra Masters Baker is in attendance as well. Baker was beaten to death while lying in bed in her Austin home in 1988, two years after Christine Morton was killed in a similar manner in the Williamson County home she shared with Michael Morton and their 3-year-old son Eric.

State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, is here as well, but the anticipated crowds have not arrived, though the relatively small courtroom in Georgetown is slowly filling up.

Lindell's preview of the Court of Inquiry is, "Morton prosecutor faces court of inquiry this week."

Exactly 16 months after Michael Morton was freed from prison, an unprecedented hearing will begin Monday in Georgetown to determine if his prosecutor, former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, should himself be prosecuted and possibly jailed.

Anderson faces a court of inquiry, a rare and uniquely Texas procedure that will examine allegations that he lied and conspired to conceal evidence — in violation of the law and a judge’s order — that could have spared Morton from serving 25 years in prison in the beating death of his wife.

In the time since DNA tests confirmed his innocence, Morton — who is expected to testify Monday — has worked to rebuild his life, particularly his relationship with son Eric, who was 3 when he was arrested, and a granddaughter born shortly after his release.

Anderson’s fortunes, meanwhile, have fallen.

Earlier coverage of the Anderson Court of Inquiry and Michael Morton's exoneration begins at the link.

Court of Inquiry in Michael Morton Case Delayed

That's the title of Brandi Grissom's Texas Tribune post on the latest developments in the Michael Morton exoneration.

The court of inquiry that will determine whether the former prosecutor who oversaw the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton could face criminal charges will be delayed until Feb. 4, a prosecutor with the Texas attorney general’s office said Monday.

News of the delay in the inquiry involving now-Williamson County State District Judge Ken Anderson — previously scheduled for Dec. 10 — came during a hearing in the case of Mark Norwood. Norwood is charged with murdering Michael Morton’s wife, Christine, at their North Austin home in 1986, a crime for which Morton spent nearly 25 years in prison. Lawyers for Norwood are seeking to delay his trial, which is scheduled for Jan. 7 in San Angelo.

Anderson is accused of deliberately hiding evidence during Morton’s 1987 trial that indicated Morton was innocent and that another person may have killed his wife. Anderson has strenuously denied allegations of wrongdoing in the Morton case.

At Monday’s hearing, Russell Hunt Jr., Norwood’s lawyer, told Williamson County State District Judge Burt Carnes that he needed additional time to hire a DNA expert to review the state expert’s work.

Earlier coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration begins at the link.

A Texas Prosecutor Faces Justice

That's the title of Joe Nocera's OpEd column in today's New York Times.

In just about a month from now, Texas will witness a rare event: a former prosecutor is going to be held to account for alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

He is Ken Anderson, who for nearly 17 years was the district attorney in Williamson County, a fast-growing suburb of Austin. (In 2002, Gov. Rick Perry made him a district judge.) As Pamela Colloff writes, in a brilliant two-part series in Texas Monthly, Anderson was the kind of prosecutor who “routinely asked for, and won, harsh sentences and fought to keep offenders in prison long after they became eligible for parole.”

One of Anderson’s most high-profile prosecutions was of a man named Michael Morton. In 1987, Anderson prosecuted him for a heinous crime: His wife, Christine, was bludgeoned to death. Morton was then in his early 30s, with a 3-year-old son and a job at Safeway. He had never been in trouble. Yet the Williamson County sheriff, Jim Boutwell, from whom Anderson took his cues, was convinced that Morton had committed the crime.

Evidence that could be used against him — such as a plaintive note Morton wrote to his wife after she fell asleep when he was hoping to have sex — was highlighted. Evidence that suggested his innocence — most importantly, a blood-stained bandana discovered near Morton’s house — was ignored. Worst of all, Anderson’s office hid from the defense some crucial evidence that would undoubtedly have caused the jury to find Morton not guilty. By the time Morton was sentenced — to life — only his parents and a single co-worker believed he was innocent.

But he was. 

And:

What makes the Morton case unusual is that, thanks to the Innocence Project’s re-investigation, Ken Anderson will soon go before a Texas Court of Inquiry. If the court believes that Anderson’s alleged misconduct rises to the level of a crime, it could refer the matter to a grand jury. But the Court of Inquiry exists only in Texas, and is almost never used even there.

In truth, Anderson isn’t the only Williamson County prosecutor who faced consequences as a result of the Morton case. His successor, John Bradley, was the one who had fought for years against the DNA testing of the bandana. Seven months after Morton was set free, Bradley, who had always been a shoo-in for re-election as district attorney, was resoundingly defeated.

Pamela Colloff's, "The Innocent Man, Part 1," and "The Innocent Man, Part 2," are available at Texas Monthly.

Earlier coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration and the Court of Inquiry begins at the link.

Colloff also wrote a Texas Monthly article, "Innocence Lost," that called critical attention to Anthony Graves' case before his capital exoneration.  After his exoneration she wrote, "Innocence Found."

An Update on the Michael Morton Exoneration

The Texas Tribune posts, "Son Seeks Answers in Father's Wrongful Conviction," by Brandi Grissom.  It's part of the Trib's Errors in Judgment series.

It had been 14 years since their last meeting. Father and son sat uncomfortably last fall in the well-appointed home of the Houston lawyer who helped free Eric Olson’s father from prison.

The only clothes Eric remembered seeing his dad wear before were prison whites. Now, he noticed, his dad was dressed just like him: blue jeans, a button-down shirt, even similar shoes.

How should he feel about meeting the man who he had believed savagely killed his mother and felt no remorse? At age 28, with his pregnant wife at his side, Eric saw his father Michael Morton  as an innocent man for the first time. Was this really happening, he wondered. It felt like a movie.

“I don’t know if I should feel tears of joy or laughter. I remember mostly being kind of numb the whole night, mostly sitting there, listening, just waiting for ... I don’t know. Waiting for everything to make sense again,” Eric recalled. “Only months before that, we were still supposed to hate him.”

Coverage of the earlier two reports in the Trib series, "Errors in Judgement," is at the links; earlier coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration and the National Registry of Exonerations, also available.

Todd Willingham Exoneration Order Drafted, But Unissued

"Cameron Todd Willingham Exoneration Was Written But Never Filed By Texas Judge," is Michael McLaughlin's Huffington Post report.

A Texas judge who reviewed the controversial 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham planned to posthumously exonerate the father who was put to death for killing his three daughters in a house fire.

Scientific experts who debunked the arson evidence used against Willingham at his 1992 trial and a jailhouse witness who recanted his shaky testimony convinced District Court Judge Charlie Baird in 2010 that "Texas wrongfully convicted" him. But Baird's order clearing Willingham's name never became official, because a higher court halted the posthumous inquiry while it considered whether the judge had authority to examine the capital case.

While waiting for permission to finish the case from the Third Court of Appeals, Baird put together the document that "orders the exoneration of Cameron Todd Willingham for murdering his three daughters," because of "overwhelming, credible and reliable evidence" presented during a one-day hearing in Austin in October 2010.

"You can't do anything for Willingham except clear his name," Baird told The Huffington Post. "When they tried Willingham, I'm convinced that everyone worked in good faith. The problem is that up until the execution, everything had changed so dramatically that you realized the science relied upon at trial was not reliable enough to take a man's life."

Baird's intended order never came to light because the court of appeals criticized his handling of the case and prevented him from resuming work on it before he left the bench at the end of 2010 after choosing not to seek re-election. No one asked him for it after the court of appeals blocked him, he said.

Baird, now an attorney in private practice, said he was moved to share the document with HuffPost after reading about Carlos DeLuna, a Texan who a Columbia University team said this week may have been wrongly executed in 1989.

The 18-page unissued order closely examined the arson evidence presented during the trial, including claims that investigators found patterns on the floor where an accelerant was poured and traces of it on the porch. But Baird said he was persuaded by other experts that the initial investigative techniques were out of date. The judge faulted Gov. Rick Perry and the state Court of Criminal Appeals, because they "ignored" exonerating evidence in 2004.

Earlier coverage of the Willingham Court of Inquiry begins at the link.  All coverage is in the Todd Willingham category index.

Michael Morton's Conversation With Chuck Lindell

Austin American-Statesman journalist Chuck Lindell broke the story of new developments in Michael Morton's case that led to his exoneration.  He's still covering the story, and the Statesman has published a two-day series, "Free to Speak;" a wide-ranging conversation between Morton and Lindell.  There is video at the links below.  It's a must-read.

"Morton can look back on pain and prison, but lives in peace," is the first part of the interview

Morton's arrival in prison immediately drove home the seriousness of his new situation.

Standing in a line of inmates wearing only prison-issued boxer shorts, Morton said he counted 13 stab wounds on the back of the man in front of him. Suddenly, the advice imparted from a longtime inmate at the county jail made perfect sense: "Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open."

Morton had to learn to stand up for himself. There were confrontations, but nothing worth discussing today, he said.

"It had its rougher moments. But most of prison is boring and monotonous and stupid and disrespectful," he said. "That's not me being some kind of elitist. Everyone inside complains about it."

Knowing he was innocent added "a little bit of emotional baggage," Morton said. "But I was no different than a guy who was completely guilty, because prison is prison. ... You go through the same stuff, deal with the same people.

"I'm not saying I didn't feel crushed. In the early days when I was new, I admit there were some nights," he said, his voice trailing off. "I heard some guys weeping, almost howling like dogs. I never had that. I wasn't that uncontrollably devastated. But there were nights when I silently wept.

"When everything has been taken away, or what you think is everything at that point, it can feel awfully brutal."

"Morton describes painful fight for freedom, how he started anew," is the conclusion.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, at the time convinced of Morton's guilt, opposed his bid for DNA tests on evidence that had been preserved, including a bloody bandanna discovered behind the Mortons' house.

It would take an appeals court order in 2010 to move the testing forward.

And:

Morton became eligible for parole in 2007, 20 years after entering prison, and again in 2010. Both times Bradley opposed his release, and both times Morton was denied.

In prison, Morton said, everybody knows that the key to parole is to admit your guilt and show remorse.

A 2009 letter from Bradley to the Parole Board drove the point home. "Ask Michael Morton if he has accepted responsibility for the murder of his wife by mercilessly beating her to death. If he tells you that he now acknowledges he committed that crime, please notify me and I will reconsider my opposition to his parole," Bradley wrote.

But Morton said making up a confession was never an option. Almost everything of value had been taken away from him. All that remained, he said, was his innocence.

"I was not going to lie to get out," he said.

Earlier coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration and what has followed begins with this post.

Michael Morton Talks to Brandi Grissom

"Michael Morton Talks About Ordeal, Hopes for Future," is the title of Brandi Grissom's post at the Texas Tribune.

In the months since he has been out of prison, Morton said, he has been inundated with kindness and gifts, hugs from strangers who wish him well and pleas for forgiveness from some who believed in his guilt. For him, those expressions, after decades of being treated like a villain, have been the most welcome surprise.

“Everybody, no matter what the setting, they want love and affirmation,” he said. “It’s one thing to want it, it’s another to get it.”

He has also restarted a relationship with Eric, who is married and has a daughter named Christine Marie, after his mother. The reunification has been a slow process for Eric, now 28. But Morton said he understands and respects his son’s concern for his adoptive family, who must also now learn to deal with the realization that he is innocent.

Morton said he is grateful that his sister-in-law raised Eric to be a loving, responsible and smart father, husband and son. When he met Eric at a recent family gathering, Morton said, during a few moments they had alone, his son asked about his mother. They both cried.

“There was no one I would rather spend my life with than his mother,” he said. “And that kind of got both of us.”

As he rebuilds his relationship with Eric, Morton is also working on another important objective: finding accountability for the men whose actions led to his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

Morton was profiled on the CBS News program, "60 Minutes," on Sunday.  That's where earlier coverage begins.

60 Minutes Looks at the Michael Morton Exoneration

"Evidence of Innocence: The case of Michael Morton," is the title of CBS News "60 Minutes" examination of Michael Morton's exoneration.  It's reported by Lara Logan; produced by Andy Court and Anya Bourg.  There is video at the link.  Here's the beginning:

It's not every day that a convicted murderer clears his name and then returns to court to argue that his prosecutor should be prosecuted. But that's what happened recently in a high-profile case in Texas that raises broader questions about the power prosecutors have and what happens when they're accused of misusing it. At the center of this story is a man named Michael Morton. He was once an ordinary citizen with a wife, a child, a job, and no criminal record whatsoever. But then he was sent to prison for life.

In 1987 in a very public trial, Michael Morton was convicted of brutally murdering his wife. As he was led away to prison, he insisted he was innocent.

[Michael Morton: I did not do this.

Reporter: I'm sorry what?

Michael Morton: I did not do this.]

Hardly anyone believed him until last year when he was exonerated by DNA testing. By then, he had spent nearly 25 years of his life behind bars.

Lara Logan: What was it like for you to walk from the court a free man?

Michael Morton: It was so alien at first. It wasn't quite real. We stepped out of the courtroom and it was a beautiful sunny day. The sun felt so good on my face, on my skin. I can just feel like I was just drinking in the sunshine.

Brandi Grissom posts, "On '60 Minutes,' Exoneree Seeks Accountability," at the Texas Tribune.

Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder, told Lara Logan of CBS's 60 Minutes that it's not revenge he's after — it's accountability.

"I don't want this to happen to anybody else. Revenge isn't the issue here," he said. "Revenge, I know, doesn't work. But accountability works."

Earlier coverage of Michael Morton's exoneration and its aftermath begins at the link.  Related posts are in the prosecutorial misconduct index.

 

Court of Inquiry Prosecutor's Responsibilities Cause Slowdown

Today's Austin American-Statesman reports, "Anderson inquiry in Williamson County slowed until June."  It's by Chuck Lindell.

The court of inquiry examining former Williamson County prosecutor Ken Anderson's role in the Michael Morton case will progress slowly for the next three months, the special prosecutor said Monday.

Rusty Hardin, appointed last week to act as special prosecutor for the court of inquiry, said another commitment will keep him from devoting much time to the Anderson-Morton case until June at the earliest.

Hardin is defending pitching star Roger Clemens against charges that he lied to Congress when he denied using steroids during his Major League Baseball career. That federal court trial begins April 16 in Washington, and prosecutors indicated that they will need six to eight weeks to present their case, Hardin said.

"I think it's safe to say we expect the main efforts to be this summer" in the Anderson inquiry, Hardin said from his office in Houston.

The court of inquiry will examine allegations, leveled by Morton and his lawyers, that Anderson intentionally hid evidence that could have spared Morton from a life sentence for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine, in their Southwest Williamson County home.

Earlier coverage of the Morton exoneration and Court of Inquiry begins at the link.

Special Prosecutor Named for Morton Case Court of Inquiry

Today's Austin American-Statesman reports, "Well-known criminal lawyer Hardin to assist in Morton inquiry."  It's by Chuck Lindell.

Well-known Houston trial lawyer Rusty Hardin has been named to act as special prosecutor for the court of inquiry that was convened last month in the Michael Morton case.

The court of inquiry will determine whether former Williamson County prosecutor Ken Anderson, now a district judge in Georgetown, violated state law by improperly withholding information that could have spared Morton from being wrongly convicted of his wife's murder in 1987. Anderson has denied hiding evidence from Morton's trial and appellate lawyers.

In selecting Hardin in an order signed Monday, District Judge Louis Sturns of Fort Worth, who will lead the court of inquiry, gets a special prosecutor who is no stranger to high-profile cases and advises other lawyers about how to deal with the media during blockbuster trials.

Hardin represents Roger Clemens, a former major league baseball pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner who is fighting accusations that he lied to Congress about steroid use. He also has represented accounting firm Arthur Andersen in its civil and criminal cases linked to the Enron collapse and the estate of millionaire J. Howard Marshall in the probate fight with his widow, former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

Hardin also was chief trial counsel for the Whitewater independent counsel's office for nine months in 1994, working under Kenneth Starr and Bob Fiske in Little Rock, Ark.

Courts of inquiry are a rarely used feature of the Texas criminal code that allows the judiciary to act similar to a grand jury, determining whether state laws have been broken. As special prosecutor — or attorney pro tem, as the criminal code labels the job — Hardin will question witnesses, compile evidence and "render other assistance to the judge as necessary."

"Rusty Hardin special prosecutor in misconduct inquiry," is by Tony Freemantle for the Houston Chronicle.

Veteran Houston lawyer Rusty Hardin has been named special prosecutor for a rare court of inquiry convened to examine if prosecutorial misconduct sent an innocent Williamson County man to prison for nearly 25 years for murdering his wife.

Michael Morton, 57, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the August 1986 beating death of his wife, Christine, but was released last fall after DNA testing on a bandana found near the scene pointed to another man in the murder. Morton was officially exonerated in December.

In addition to the DNA evidence, however, Morton's attorneys contend that prosecutor Ken Anderson, who is now a Williamson County state district judge, deliberately withheld evidence during the trial that could have acquitted Morton and spared him nearly a quarter-century behind bars.

And:

He served for 15 years as an assistant district attorney in Harris County and tried 14 death penalty cases.

He entered private practice in 1991 and has represented, among others, pitcher Roger Clemens, the accounting firm Arthur Anderson in litigation linked to the collapse of Enron, and the estate of J. Howard Marshall against claims by his widow, the late Anna Nicole Smith.

"Rusty Hardin Picked for Prosecutor in Morton Case," by Morgan Smith at the Texas Tribune.

Tarrant County state district Judge Louis Sturns will lead a court of inquiry to investigate allegations of criminal prosecutorial misconduct against former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, who saw to the wrongful murder conviction of Michael Morton. Anderson, who is now a state district judge, has vigorously denied any wrongdoing in his court filings, and has expressed regret over the 25 years that Morton was imprisoned before he was exonerated in December.

And:

Morton argues through his lawyers that there is probable cause to believe that Anderson should be charged with contempt of court and tampering with official documents. Morton's lawyers allege that Anderson concealed police reports that included a transcript of a telephone conversation between a sheriff’s deputy and Morton’s mother-in-law in which she reported that her 3-year-old grandson had seen a “monster” — who was not his father — attack and kill his mother.

Anderson's lawyers said that the judge in the case only requested a small portion of the police reports be turned over and called the complete report "nothing more than an artifice, a construct to support a requested result."

John Raley, the Houston lawyer who has worked for eight years on Michael Morton's case, said, "I am confident Mr. Hardin will handle this matter with integrity, seriousness of purpose and determination."

Earlier coverage of the Michael Morton exoneration and its aftermath begins at the link.

Bob Ray Sanders on the Morton Court of Inquiry

"Important move forward on holding both sides of court accountable," is the title of Bob Ray Sanders' column in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Here's the beginning:

What happened to Michael Morton should never happen to any human being anywhere, especially in a country where the word justice is righteously regarded as a major pillar of our democratic republic.

He should never have been charged with a crime, much less indicted, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Thanks be to God and an organization called the Innocence Project, Morton was officially exonerated in December on charges of killing his wife in 1986, but not before he had spent 25 years in the Texas prison system.

In a statement to the court after charges were formally dismissed, Morton said, "Thank God this wasn't a capital case."

Indeed, otherwise he would likely have been executed before we learned of his innocence.

But Morton's case, one of 289 DNA-related exonerations in the country and more than 40 in Texas in the last 10 years, shines a glaring light on a more chilling and sinister issue involving criminal prosecutions, particularly in the Lone Star State.

His lawyers contend that Morton wasn't just a victim of mistaken identity, but a casualty of prosecutorial misconduct. Specifically they allege that the prosecutor in the case, Ken Anderson, who was then the Williamson County district attorney, deliberately withheld evidence that pointed to Morton's innocence.

Earlier coverage of the court of inquiry ordered in the Morton exoneration begins at the link.