In preparation for her upcoming trial beginning August 17 in San Antonio, Texas Monthly has put Michael Hall's August profile of Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller on its public web site, featuring an indepth look at the circumstances surrounding what he calls "the most infamous phone call in recent Texas history"and the backlash that arose in response. Hall writes that Sharon:
Keller—long mocked by defense lawyers, judges, and state legislators as “Sharon Killer”—has brought negative publicity to the CCA before, but nothing like this. It will get worse when the trial begins, on August 17, in the San Antonio courtroom of district judge (and former CCA judge) David Berchelmann Jr. “It’s going to be a donnybrook,” said Cathy Cochran, one of Keller’s brethren on the CCA. Judge will testify against judge. The shroud of secrecy will be lifted—and not only from the court. Keller has been one of the more mysterious judges on the bench, a modest, private person not given to publicity (she declined to be interviewed for this story) who lets her conservative decisions do her talking.Hall has much more in this long feature, as well as an update on the so-called Mineola Swingers Club cases--the next case has been rescheduled for August 3, after Judge Skeen completes a series of evidentiary hearings into several Brady issues. Both stories are worth checking out.
If Skeen is involved....it's going to be a trainwreck for truth and justice.
ReplyDeleteNotice: The county that this happened in (Wood) didn't file charges. Smith County Prosecutors thought they saw a slam dunk against helpless perverts.
Maybe. Maybe not. But we'll never know in Skeen's court.
I never have understood the whole swinger's club prosecution. If everyone is above age, consenting, and in their own mind how exactly can they be prosecuted for it? As I understand it the Salem witch trials ended several hundred years ago, and well, the Roman Catholic Church hasn't done a crusade since the 13th century.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly are they being charged with, and if it is some morality charge cooked up from arcane laws, shouldn't it have been dropped by now?
How can the state withhold such crucial evidence in a case like this, a case where 3 people have lost their freedom for life? That is simply criminal, monstrous. I'd like to see those responsible (D.A.'s, etc.) face criminal charges. This sort of thing is one of the reasons your average citizen is becoming increasingly distrustful of the system. And rightly so, by God.
ReplyDeleteCochran is going to testify against Keller? That's a surprise.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the impression that Cochran was testifying "against" Keller but rather as a potential resource witness as to the workings of the CCA.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I thought Michael Hall and Texas Monthly did a suprisingly objective and fair job of presenting both sides of the claim against Keller. Unsurprisingly, it appears that there was much more to the story than was originally presented in the blatantly anti-death penalty Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News.
I've always felt that the last minute shenanigans of the Texas Defender Service would ultimately lead to a train wreck and in this particular instance it did. TDS comes off looking pretty bad in this article.
Whatever feelings one has about Judge Keller and her "pro-prosecution" leanings, it is becoming readily apparent that she is the target of an unwarranted personal and politically motivated attack from the left-wing MSM and the rabid anti-death penalty zealots. Shame on them!!!!
Your right. I read her response and it made sense to me. If she hadn't made a big deal out of having legal expenses paid for, she could take the high road in the media.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Sharon could take off with Sarah Palin....
ReplyDeleteWell, I followed this case since last year when "Booger" Red went to trial. From the get go I knew this case was a utter joke and travesty of Justice. I emailed Grits suggesting he should mention this case in his blog.
ReplyDeleteOh well, better late than never