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Did Top Texas Judge’s Testimony Open Door to Wrongful Death Suit?

Posted Nov 6, 2009, 12:10 pm CST
By Martha Neil

Contending that a top Texas appellate judge misled a federal appeals court that dismissed a wrongful death claim by the wife and daughter of a executed inmate, a civil rights group has asked a federal judge to reopen the case .

It concerns a controversial refusal by Texas Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Keller to keep the court open long enough on Sept. 25, 2007 for lawyers to make a last-minute appeal on behalf of Michael Richard, based on a then-recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. He was executed later that same evening.

The federal wrongful death suit was dismissed after Keller, who is the court's presiding judge, claimed judicial immunity. But in later testimony in a trial… Continue reading...



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