"Sharon Keller, the state’s top criminal judge, was reprimanded today for “interfering” with attempts to file a late appeal on behalf of a death row inmate in 2007.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct declined to recommend that Keller be removed from office, instead issuing a “public warning” over her behavior in the case of convicted killer Michael Richard."
REPORTER CHUCK LINDELL: THE STATESMAN;
The "public warning" can be found through the following link:
http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2010/07/state-commission-on-judicial-conduct-issues-public-warning-to-texas-court-of-criminal-appeals-presid.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: Judge Sharon Keller has attained notoriety for allegations that she allowed convicted murderer and rapist Michael Richard to be executed on September 25, 2007 - notwithstanding his attempt to file a stay of execution - because the court clerk's office closes at 5. Keller is also of particular interest to this Blog because of the opinion she wrote for the majority in the Roy Criner case. Wikipedia informs us that: "Sharon Faye Keller (born in Dallas, Texas, 1953) is the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the highest court for all criminal matters in the State of Texas. Because of her position, she has been involved in many high-profile and controversial cases, and has thus received widespread news coverage......In 1998, Keller she wrote the majority opinion in a 5-3 (one judge abstaining) decision that denied a new trial to Roy Criner. Criner had been convicted of sexual assault in 1990, but newly-available DNA testing had shown that the semen found in the victim was not his......Judge Tom Price, who ran for the Chief Judge seat, in a primary election, said that Keller's Criner opinion had made the court a "national laughingstock." Judge Mansfield, who had sided with the majority in denying Criner a hearing, told the Chicago Tribune that, after watching the Frontline documentary, reviewing briefs and considering the case at some length, he voted "the wrong way" and would change his vote if he could. "Judges, like anyone else, can make mistakes ... I hope I get a chance to fix it." He stated that he hoped Criner's lawyers filed a new appeal as he felt Criner deserved a get a new trial......Following the (appeal court's) refusal to order a new trial, the cigarette butt found at the scene (and not adduced at trial) was subjected to DNA testing.The DNA on the cigarette was not a match for Criner, but it was a match for the semen found in Ogg. Ogg's DNA was also found on the cigarette, indicating that she shared a cigarette with the person who had sex with her (and who presumably killed her). These results convinced the district attorney, local sheriff and the trial judge that Criner was not guilty. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended he be pardoned and, citing "credible new evidence [that] raises substantial doubt about [Criner's] guilt," then-Governor George W. Bush pardoned him in 2000.
The thorough, unabridged Wikipedia article on Keller can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Keller
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sharon Keller, the state’s top criminal judge, was reprimanded today for “interfering” with attempts to file a late appeal on behalf of a death row inmate in 2007," the Statesman's story by reporter Chuck Lindell, published earlier today begins, under the heading, "Keller reprimanded for role in missed execution appeal."
"The State Commission on Judicial Conduct declined to recommend that Keller be removed from office, instead issuing a “public warning” over her behavior in the case of convicted killer Michael Richard," the story continues.
"Keller’s lawyer, Chip Babcock, has in the past said she will appeal anything short of an exoneration.
Richard’s legal team with the nonprofit Texas Defender Service had asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to stay open beyond 5 p.m. on the evening Richard was to be executed. Keller, reached at home by court personnel, declined the request, the commission found.
Commissioners ignored advice from District Judge David Berchelmann Jr., who recommended that charges be dropped against Keller.
Appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to act as “special master” in the Keller case, Berchelmann held a four-day hearing in August.
UPDATE: Chip Babcock, Judge Keller’s lawyer, issued the following statement:
“Judge Keller is disappointed and shocked that the commission has completely disregarded the findings of respected trial judge David Berchelmann, who presided over a four-day trial. It is perhaps not surprising that the same commission that made the charges finds them now to be valid despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Judge Keller looks forward to challenging this decision in the judicial system.”"
The story can be found at:
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/investigative/entries/2010/07/16/keller_reprimanded_for_role_in.html?cxntfid=blogs_focal_point
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
