"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.
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