Tag Archives: State Commission on Judicial Conduct

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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More on Judge Jackson

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Prosecutors aren’t done investigating Harris County Criminal Court Judge Don Jackson, who was indicted this week on charges of official oppression. Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said investigators in the public integrity division want … Continue reading →

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Harris County criminal court judge indicted

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. A Harris County Criminal Court-at-Law judge was indicted Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of official oppression, accused of offering to get a DWI defendant in his court help getting her case dismissed in exchange for a sexual relationship. According … 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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Keller testifies

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Day Two of the trial of Judge Sharon Keller had Keller herself testifying. Rapid-fire questions from Austin lawyer Mike McKetta, acting as the prosecution, drilled into the heart of the charges against Keller — that by violating the court’s established … Continue reading →

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The Keller trial, Day One

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you want a detailed blow-by-blow description of the trial of Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Sharon Keller, go to the Statesman’s Focal Point blog, which has been liveblogging the procedure. Here are links to various entries: Opening statement by … Continue reading →

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A preview of the Keller case

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Lawyer has an in depth look at some of the facts that are in dispute in the judicial conduct hearing for Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, which begins today. It is, as the story’s headline suggests, … Continue reading →

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Keller goes on the offensive

Posted on August 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re less than two weeks out from the judicial conduct hearing on Court of Criminal Appeals Chief Justice Sharon Keller, and it’s clear that her defense strategy will be to attack her accusers. Keller, facing potentially career-ending charges that she … Continue reading →

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Texas Monthly on Sharon Keller

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly gives the long-form magazine article treatment to Sharon Keller and her upcoming trial before the Commission on Judicial Conduct. It’s well worth reading, and they try their best to humanize her, but I can’t bring myself to care … Continue reading →

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Keller hearing moved to San Antonio

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It had been scheduled to be in Austin, but now it’s been moved to San Antonio. State District Judge David Berchelmann Jr., who was chosen by the Texas Supreme Court to preside over Keller’s trial, will use his downtown San … Continue reading →

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How about that CCA’s reputation for fairness?

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is just precious. The longest serving Judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Lawrence “Larry” Meyers, has announced he is seeking re-election in 2010. The Court has been called a national laughingstock by one of its other members … Continue reading →

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Burnam drops impeachment resolution

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I had wondered what would happen with Rep. Lon Burnam’s resolution to impeach Sharon Keller, given that we were coming down to the wire and there was a lot of pressing business that needed to be taken care of in … Continue reading →

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Keller’s day in court set for August

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Not as soon as I would have liked, since I think this saga has dragged on long enough, but at least we have a date. Mark it in ink: The trial to assess whether Judge Sharon Keller violated her duty … Continue reading →

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What else have you not told us, Sharon?

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Sharon Keller, the Presiding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, has asked that the state pick up her legal fees in defense of the charges against her on grounds that paying for her own attorney would … Continue reading →

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You have the right to an attorney, but it doesn’t have to be of your choosing

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In her response to the charges pending against her before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Sharon Keller made the claim that the state should foot her legal bills. Rick Casey notes the problem with that claim. [We do] provide … Continue reading →

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Keller blames others for her actions

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, who has been formally accused of violating her duty as a judge in the matter of the Michael Richard case, has filed her response to the State Commission on Judicial Ethics. (For … Continue reading →

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NYT on Keller

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story doesn’t really advance our knowledge of Justice Sharon Keller, but it does provide some insight as to her supporters. At least, it confirms that she has them. How they can reconcile their opinion of her with some of … Continue reading →

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Keller gets an extension

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, now has until March 24 to answer charges that she violated her judicial duties by declining to accept an after-hours appeal from a death row inmate in … Continue reading →

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The case against Keller

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey reads through the Judicial Conduct Commission case against Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Sharon Keller, and finds that her actions were worse than even I had thought. We already knew that Keller and the other judges were aware … Continue reading →

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Judicial conduct commission moves against Keller

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

About damn time. The state judicial ethics commission has charged Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, with violating her duty and bringing discredit upon the judiciary when she declined to allow a death row prisoner … Continue reading →

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Burnam files resolution to impeach Justice Keller

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Lon Burnam (D, Fort Worth) has dropped a little bomb called HR480, the text of which calls for “House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature [to] adopt the following procedures to consider the impeachment of Judge Sharon … Continue reading →

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