Tag Archives: Court of Criminal Appeals

Maybe Keller hasn’t gotten away with it just yet

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Could there possibly be some accountability in this world? [The state Commission on Judicial Conduct]’s executive director, Seana Willing, asked the panel to reconsider its decision to dismiss the case, which stemmed from Keller’s actions on the day Michael Wayne … Continue reading →

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Keller takes a victory lap

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

She’s still blaming others and lying about the facts. Texas’ top criminal judge said Tuesday that she feels vindicated that a special court dismissed a public reprimand of her for closing her court and preventing lawyers from filing a last-minute … Continue reading →

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Keller gets away with it

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m thoroughly disgusted. A special court of review Monday threw out an ethics rebuke given to Presiding Judge Sharon Keller for closing the Court of Criminal Appeals at 5 p.m. despite knowing that lawyers wanted to file an appeal for … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: High courts

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Four more endorsements from the Chron, one of which goes to a Democrat: Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5:The best choice to bring differing judicial philosophies and a wealth of trial experience to the all-Republican court is El Paso jurist and … Continue reading →

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Keller’s final appeal

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the tenacity, I’ll give her that much. A special court of review plans to decide by Oct. 8 whether to dismiss a judicial ethics panel’s rebuke of Judge Sharon Keller or move forward with her appeal. … Continue reading →

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Keller’s appeal denied by Supremes

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. The Texas Supreme Court this morning denied Judge Sharon Keller’s request to throw out last month’s public rebuke for her role in a botched 2007 death row appeal. Later today, Keller’s lawyers are expected to file a separate … Continue reading →

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SCJC contests Keller’s appeal

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When last we met, Sharon Keller had appealed the curious “warning” she received from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Commission had acted “lawlessly” by issuing that particular sanction. The Commission has now … Continue reading →

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Keller appeals to Supreme Court

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

She’s still going for full vindication. Because as far as she’s concerned, she did nothing wrong. [I]n a Supreme Court petition filed Thursday, Keller argued that the commission acted in a “lawless” manner because the Texas Constitution forbids it to … Continue reading →

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What is this “warning” of which you speak?

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see that someone is asking questions about the warning that the State Commission on Judicial Conduct handed down to Sharon Keller. Seana Willing, the commission’s examiner, contends in an e-mail that the order is based on a … Continue reading →

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“Warning” versus “reprimand”

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey answers a question that has been bugging me about the State Commission on Judicial Conduct ruling that issued a “public warning” to Sharon Keller. A majority of the panel agreed that Keller needed to be sanctioned for ignoring … Continue reading →

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Keller gets “public warning” from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No, I don’t know what a “public warning” is, either. It’s the first time I’ve heard that phrase. But it’s what the Trib says Sharon Keller got as her “punishment” from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. What it sounds … Continue reading →

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The softer side of Sharon Keller

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib lets us know that there’s more to Sharon Keller than willful indifference to death penalty appeals and rigid fealty to the prosecutorial perspective. For nearly as long as she has led the state’s highest criminal court, Keller has … Continue reading →

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The Keller hearings

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The current phase of the Sharon Keller saga may end soon. Sharon Keller, fighting to keep her job as the state’s top criminal court judge, should know her fate soon. After a five-hour hearing Friday, members of the State Commission … Continue reading →

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Keller hearing today

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to have its hearing on the Sharon Keller case and to decide what to do with the findings of the Special Master. Today, prosecutors plan to argue that [Special … Continue reading →

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Keller may yet face criminal charges

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Grits read through the TEC ruling against Sharon Keller, who was hit with a record $100K fine for various failures to disclose financial information, and notes that the system isn’t done with Keller yet, as there is still the matter … Continue reading →

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Keller gets slammed by Ethics Commission

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The Texas Ethics Commission has levied a record $100,000 fine against Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller for failing to make full financial disclosures in 2007 and 2008. […] The commission in an order made public … Continue reading →

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CCA overturns “checks aren’t cash” appeals verdict

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For once, their pro-prosecution proclivities were good for something. The Austin appeals court erred in deciding that the state’s money-laundering statute – used to prosecute associates of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – did not apply to transfers … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS officially endorses hot judge on prosecutor action

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I wish I could say I was surprised by this, but I’m not. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from Charles Dean Hood, a Texas death row inmate who complained that he was denied a fair trial because … Continue reading →

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Meet The Statewides and The Other 49%

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The TDP is running a ten-week campaign between now and June 14 to promote the statewide slate. It includes a bio with 60-second video for each candidate, a discussion of the candidate’s race and the issues in it, and an … Continue reading →

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Next Keller hearing June 18

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct set a June 18 hearing in the continuing case of Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Keller was accused of bringing “public discredit” to the judiciary … Continue reading →

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Population and voting trends: 2002 and 2006 judicial elections, Part II

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In the previous entry, I said there was another way we could compare the 2002 and 2006 statewide judicial elections to get a feel for how partisan voting patterns changed at the county level. Turns out that the two Democratic … Continue reading →

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Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 judicial elections

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So we’ve seen how county returns changed in the Presidential election between 2004 and 2008. Obviously, there are many factors that can affect a Presidential election, even when there’s not really an active campaign going on in the state. How … Continue reading →

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CCA reverses itself, overturns death penalty in Hood case

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A bitterly divided Court of Criminal Appeals granted a new sentencing trial for [Charles Dean] Hood based on frequently shifting U.S. Supreme Court rulings on flawed jury instructions used prior to 1991. The 5-4 decision did not affect Hood’s … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court petitioned to hear the Charles Hood case

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Grits, one of the more embarrassing rulings from the Court of Criminal Appeals – and you know how much that is saying – has been appealed to the US Supreme Court. A former governor, a former district attorney, a … Continue reading →

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Objections to Special Master’s findings on Sharon Keller filed

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was the deadline for the examiner in the Sharon Keller case to file objections to the Special Master’s report. The examiner did have some objections, and they have now been filed. The prosecutors’ objection said the special master who … Continue reading →

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Recommendations for the Forensic Sciences Commission

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Keith Hampton, who is a Democratic candidate for the Court of Criminal Appeals, has some recommendations for what to do with the Texas Forensic Science Commission. I don’t expect Rick Perry or John Bradley to pay any attention to what … Continue reading →

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More on Keller

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about Sharon Keller getting off lightly in the report produced by Special Master David Berchelmann for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Of interest is the reminder that Keller isn’t out of the woods just yet. … Continue reading →

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Keller gets off

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Fresh from the Trib: Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, will not be removed from the bench following a trial and review by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. […] The special master finds that … Continue reading →

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CCA versus David Dow

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

According to Grits, UH law professor David Dow and the nonprofit Texas Defender Service will be called to account before the Court of Criminal Appeals for filing tardy paperwork. Two years ago, David Dow and the Texas Defender Service were … Continue reading →

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Trying to reinstate a lawsuit against Sharon Keller

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last year, a wrongful death lawsuit against Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller that was filed by the daughter of death row inmate Michael Richard, the man who was executed in the “we close at 5” case, was … Continue reading →

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Hampton for CCA

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news from Grits. Keith Hampton, a veteran appellate lawyer and chair of the legislative committee for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, has announced his candidacy for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, lining up to run against … Continue reading →

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CCA gives its approval to hot judge-on-prosecutor action

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how else to characterize this latest atrocity from the biggest joke in Texas, the Court of Criminal Appeals. The question of whether a romantic relationship between a judge and prosecutor is unfair won’t be decided by the … Continue reading →

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That’s a wrap for the Keller trial

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So the judicial misconduct trial of Sharon Keller is now over, and we will await the ruling from District Judge David Berchelmann Jr., who will compile “findings of fact” for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; the Commission will then … Continue reading →

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Same old Sharon

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll say this for Sharon Keller. She is steadfast in her beliefs, and there is nothing you can say to her to make her waver from them. The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals who refused to … Continue reading →

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