Legal Ethics
Storm Brews Over TX Judge Who Refused Late Capital Appeal
Posted Oct 25, 2007 10:34 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is among a growing number of lawyers who are criticizing the presiding judge of Texas’ highest criminal court for refusing a death penalty appeal filed 20 minutes late.
The group has sent a complaint against the judge, Sharon Keller, to the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, the New York Times reports. Keller may already be the subject of a complaint filed on the same grounds; several Texas lawyers announced earlier this month that they would be filing it.
Inmate Michael Richard was executed despite his lawyers’ attempts to seek an emergency stay pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a lethal injection case. His lead lawyer, David Dow, told the Times the appeal was late because of a computer breakdown. Keller has said she was unaware of the reason for the delay.
- How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind
- Schools Ranked by 'Super Lawyers' Produced
- Law Firm Price Wars Break Out as Some Try ‘Loss Leader’ Bids for Work
- Five Questions for Law Firms Abandoning Lockstep Compensation
- Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days
- Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay
- Court Deputy Ordered to Apologize or Face Jail After Taking Lawyer's Paperwork
- Skadden Jumps on the Bonus Bandwagon
- ABA Executive Director Resigns
- Nasty Attitude to Co-Worker, Naughty Word in E-Mail Cost 2 Their Jobs
Should Supreme Court Justices Be Able to Review News Accounts Before Publication?
Comments
Scott Cobb
Oct 25, 2007 12:30 PM CST
Lawyers are not the only people complaining about Judge Keller. People from all walks of life have signed on to a complaint against Keller that is online at sharonkiller.com. Almost 900 have signed on so far.
Sign Our Judicial Complaint Against Judge Sharon Keller
If you are as shocked as we were by Judge Sharon Keller saying “We close at 5” and refusing to accept an appeal 20 minutes after 5 PM by lawyers representing a man about to be executed, then sign on to this complaint. We will submit this complaint to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on October 30, 2007. Anyone can sign the complaint.
Flag this comment
Add a Comment
We welcome your comments, but please adhere to our comment policy.
Commenting has expired on this post.