National News Coverage of Keller Proceedings

"Texas Judge May Lose Job Over Appeal in Death Case," is James McKinley's report in today's New York Times.

The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct took the highly unusual step Thursday of starting proceedings against the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court because, two years ago, she closed her office promptly at 5 p.m. when she knew a death row inmate was about to file an appeal.

The action could result in the judge, Sharon Keller, being removed from office after a hearing before a special magistrate.

Judge Keller, a Republican first elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994, did not comment Thursday on the commission’s decision. Her lawyer said she “absolutely and totally” denied the accusations, The Associated Press reported.

In the past, the commission members, who are appointed by the governor, have generally gone after judges for blatant misconduct and criminal offenses. They have seldom tried to censure a judge for allegedly denying someone access to the courts.

“I have never seen anything like this before in 15 or more years of death penalty lawyering,” said Jim Marcus, an adjunct law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “But I have never seen a court closed like this either. This whole incident has been unusual.”

The inmate, Michael Richard, was executed the evening of Sept. 25, 2007, as his lawyers were trying to submit a last-minute appeal. The appeal was based on a decision that morning by the United States Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether lethal injection constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

And:

Judge Keller’s decision drew widespread criticism from lawyers in Texas and across the country. More than 20 lawyers filed the original complaint against her before the commission, alleging that she had violated Mr. Richard’s rights.

This week, State Representative Lon Burnam, a Fort Worth Democrat, introduced a bill to impeach Judge Keller, accusing her of “gross neglect of duty” and a “willful disregard for human life.”

Mr. Richard had been convicted of a 1986 rape and fatal shooting of a mother of seven children.

The commission’s decision on Thursday is roughly analogous to a grand jury’s handing up an indictment. It sets in motion a trial before a special master. Judge Keller will have the right to counsel, to confront her accusers, to introduce evidence and to cross-examine witnesses. In the end, the master can chose to censure her or remove her from office.

"Tex. Judge Accused of Death Row Plea Error," is the national AP dispatch, via the Washington Post.

According to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Keller was charged with "willful and persistent" failure to follow execution-day procedures.

The commission said that Keller knew late appeals were accepted on execution days and that, although she was not the judge in charge of the execution, she failed to relay requests to allow the late appeal to Judge Cheryl Johnson.

But Keller's attorney said lawyers for the Texas Defender Service handling Richard's appeal should have known to go directly to the judge in charge of the execution.

Twenty lawyers, including a state legislator and a former appellate judge, filed one of the original complaints against Keller to the judicial commission accusing her of violating Richard's rights. They said Keller improperly cut off appeals even though the U.S. Supreme Court had earlier in the day accepted a case on the propriety of lethal injection.

"Texas judge charged with blocking execution appeal," is the AFP report via Google News.

Jim Harrington, the complaint's author and president of the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), welcomed the commission's start.

"We hope this is a first step that will lead to her removal from office. What Judge Keller did was legally and morally reprehensible and brought the administration of criminal justice in Texas into ill repute across the nation," he said in a statement.

"Removing Judge Keller from office would send a signal that not even the highest criminal judge in the state is above the law.

"It would also be proper punishment for the morally shameful way she let a person die without final recourse to the courts," he added.

"Texas chief judge charged with 'incompetence'," by Steve Marshall is on the USA Today website.

A special counsel retained by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct accused Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller of leaving her office to meet a home repairman on Sept. 25, 2007, knowing that attorneys for Michael Wayne Richard would likely seek a postponement of their client's execution scheduled later that night.

Richard's lawyers were preparing a last-ditch appeal after the U.S. Supreme Court announced the same day that it would review questions about whether lethal injection amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

But Keller never returned to her office that day and repeatedly denied defense lawyers' requests to extend the filing time because of computer problems, according to commission documents.

At the time, Richard's execution marked the latest flashpoint in the national debate over whether the death penalty is applied fairly. It also was the last execution before the Supreme Court effectively suspended executions for seven months until it rejected a challenge last April to a standard lethal injection method.

The Chicago Tribune carries a McClatchy News report by Max Baker and Kevin Lyons, "Texas justice found wanting for not waiting to hear last-minute Death Row appeal."  A similar version is in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A state panel said Thursday it will seek disciplinary action against Texas' top criminal judge because she refused to extend the court's business hours for a Death Row appeal just before the inmate was executed.

The action could lead to her dismissal.

In a notice calling a formal hearing, the Commission on Judicial Conduct said "willful and persistent conduct" by Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, was inconsistent with proper performance of her duties in a last-minute appeal by Michael Richard on Sept. 25, 2007.

The commission said Keller's action "casts public discredit on the judiciary" and the administration of justice. The hearing notice also said her actions constituted "incompetence in the performance of duties" of her office.

Keller's office said the judge would not comment. She has 15 days to file a written answer to the charges.

In the proceeding, Keller has the right to counsel, to be confronted by her accusers, to introduce evidence and to question witnesses.

After the proceedings, the commission may adopt, change or reject the findings and then issue conclusions. The proceedings may end in dismissal, public censure or recommendation of removal. The decision is then sent to a review tribunal appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas.

Only the review tribunal may remove the judge from the bench, and that decision could be appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.

Seana Willing, executive director of the judicial commission, said the Texas Supreme Court will appoint a special master to hear the matter. According to commission documents, the special master is a sitting or retired district or appellate judge.

Earlier this week, Democratic state Rep. Lon Burnam filed a resolution seeking to impeach Keller for her role in the incident. Burnam was among a group of more than 20 people, including lawyers and a former appellate judge, who filed complaints to the judicial commission accusing Keller of violating Richard's rights.

The notice from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct is here; earlier coverage, here.  Next post will be Texas news coverage.