More on Sharon Keller

"Appeals court senior judge says Keller wasn't urged to resign," is the title of Steve McGonigle's report in today's Dallas Morning News.

The senior judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Monday that he and his colleagues have urged Presiding Judge Sharon Keller to resign over allegations that she improperly blocked a last-minute plea to halt an execution.

"It would not be for me to tell her what to do," Judge Larry Meyers said during an hourlong interview with The Dallas Morning News editorial board.

Meyers, a former Fort Worth appellate judge who has spent 17 years on the Austin court, said he had spoken with Keller, and she seems resolved to fight the charges brought two weeks ago by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

"I think she's determined to air it out," he said.

Chip Babcock, a Dallas attorney for Keller, dismissed any notion she would resign.

"It is not a real possibility," he said.

Meyers said he still does not know the details of what happened the evening of Sept. 25, 2007, when attorneys for convicted murderer Michael Richard were unable file a petition to prevent their client's execution.

Richard was given a lethal injection about three hours after court employees said they had been advised by Keller that the court closed at 5 p.m. and pleadings could not be accepted after that time.

On Feb. 19, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct concluded a yearlong investigation when it filed charges that Keller's conduct in the Richard case constituted a willful violation of her official duties and brought disrepute on the court.

The commission accused Keller – who had left the court for the day to await a repairman at her north Austin home – of violating court rules by directing Ed Marty, the court's general counsel, to reject any filing after 5 p.m.

The commission also ordered an unprecedented public hearing for Keller, a former Dallas prosecutor who has become a lightning rod for death penalty critics during her 15 years on the state's highest criminal court. The hearing could result in a recommendation that she be removed from the bench.

And:

Meyers acknowledged that the Richard case and resulting charges against Keller have brought significant "notoriety" to the court. But he said he was not ready to assign blame to any of his fellow judges or their employees.

While it appears the court's long-standing policies were not followed, it remains unclear, he said, whether there was a "miscommunication" among Keller, the court's former general counsel, the court's chief clerk and attorneys for Richard.

He did say Marty's decision to retire from the court last year was partly because he felt some responsibility for his role in the incident.

"I think he was ready to retire and probably also saw there was going to be a lot of controversy," Meyers said. "It was not based on any pressure from us."

Marty, who now lives in Gatesville, could not be reached for comment Monday.

"10 judges reprimanded for conduct last year," is Chuck Lindell's post on the Austin American-Statesman Focal Point blog.

During a law firm’s Christmas party in Amarillo, District Judge Hal Miner smacked a female lawyer on the rear end and joked that her height caused his hand, destined for her back, to land lower than intended. That hand found the same target again later that night, prompting several complaints from offended party-goers.

Miner was among 10 judges publicly reprimanded last year by the State Commission of Judicial Conduct, which made international news recently when it filed charges against Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court.

Keller was charged with neglecting her judicial duty when she refused to allow a death row inmate Michael Richard to file a late appeal on his execution date.

With Keller’s trial on the charges pending, it’s time to take a closer look at the commission, and we start with last year’s disciplinary actions.

And:

Three judges resigned in lieu of discipline last year:

1. David McCoy, a Childress County district judge indicted for theft by a public servant.

2. James Blackstock, a Brazoria County Court-at-Law judge found guilty of assault after sexually harassing four women.

3. Martin De Leon, an Aransas County justice of the peace who faced allegations of forgery and conflict of interest.

The commission also gave private reprimands to 26 judges last year (the list goes back to 2000, without names, of course), including my personal favorite:

A justice of the peace who threw out a jury verdict in a landlord-tenant dispute and granted a new trial — without either party asking for it.

Earlier coverage begins here.