Sunday, August 25, 2013

Back in action! Catch-up from seasonal break. Ken Anderson: Texas. Professional misconduct hearing for Michael Morton's former prosecutor to commence on August 30 in Georgetown. KXAN.


STORY: "Hearing date set for Ken Anderson: Proceeding could bar him from practicing in Texas," published by KXAN on August 8, 2013.

GIST: "A hearing on a civil proceeding which could bar State District Judge Ken Anderson from practicing law in Texas is set for this month. The hearing is set for August 30 in Georgetown and is part of the ongoing civil and criminal charge against Anderson. The matter revolves around his time as the Williamson County prosecutor in the Michael Morton wrongful murder conviction from the late 1980s. Anderson was arrested earlier this year after a court of inquiry showed he withheld evidence in the original trial. A judge will hear a motion by the State Bar of Texas at the August hearing to move ahead quickly in applying for sanctions against Anderson."

The entire story can be found at:


http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/hearing-date-set-for-ken-anders

Wikipedia entry: Morton was formally acquitted by Bexar County District Judge Sid Harle on December 19, 2011. On the same day, Morton's attorneys (including Raley, Morrison, Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project, and Gerald Goldstein and Cynthia Orr of San Antonio) asked Harle to order a "court of inquiry" into the actions of Anderson, who is now a district judge in Williamson County. A court of inquiry is a special court that investigates allegations of misconduct by elected officials in Texas.[10][11] Morton has accused Anderson of failing to provide defense lawyers with exculpatory evidence indicating that another man might have killed Morton's wife, including information that his 3-year-old son witnessed the murder and said his dad was not home at the time.[5][12][13] Morton's attorneys discovered this evidence while preparing a final appeal, and were able to get Anderson and others involved in the investigation deposed under oath. On February 20, 2012; Harle asked the Texas Supreme Court to convene a court of inquiry, finding that there was evidence to support Morton's contention that Anderson had tampered with evidence and should have been held in contempt of court for not complying with the trial judge's order to let him review all possible exculpatory evidence. The court of inquiry began on February 4, 2013. If it finds that there is reason to believe Anderson broke the law, Anderson could potentially face charges that carry up to 10 years in prison.[14] On April 19, 2013, the court of inquiry ordered Anderson to be arrested, saying “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.” [15] The subsequent trial tentatively has been scheduled to begin in December of 2013. Anderson has responded by claiming immunity from any prosecution under the expiry of applicable statutes of limitation.[16]

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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 found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.