Michael Morton’s lawyers are crying foul over a request by Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley to speed Morton’s appeal toward completion, saying the move is a cynical attempt to short-circuit an investigation into allegations of misconduct by former county officials."Shameless," is the word that comes to mind.
After almost 25 years in prison for killing his wife in 1987, Morton was freed Oct. 4 when Bradley and defense lawyers agreed that recent DNA tests pointed to another man as the killer.
The agreement with Bradley also gave defense lawyers limited time to pursue an investigation into their allegations that prosecutors and investigators hid evidence that could have established Morton’s innocence and ignored leads that could have caught the killer.
But the agreement also said the investigation ends if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals establishes Morton’s innocence - which the court did Wednesday.
\Morton’s lawyers believe they have until Nov. 7, when the court issues its mandate and the ruling becomes official - to conduct their investigation, which was to be overseen by District Judge Sid Harle.
But in a motion filed late Wednesday, Bradley asked the appeals court to expedite its opinion. The motion said the request was being made for Morton’s good, freeing him from the conditions of his bond and allowing him to more quickly seek state compensation for his wrongful conviction.
Those reasons clearly irritated Morton’s lawyers, who filed a motion this morning asking the court to deny Bradley’s request.
UPDATE: Bradley withdrew the motion, reports the Texas Tribune, saying it "was a simple misunderstanding of the terms of the agreement" with Morton's lawyers. IMO the only thing Bradley misunderstood is that some people don't back down in the face of bullies, even if that's what he's used to in Williamson County.
MORE: From the Austin Chronicle.
Related:
- John Bradley facing local, national criticism now that Michael Morton formally exonerated
- State Bar should sanction prosecutor from Michael Morton case but almost certainly won't
- What can the Texas Legislature do to reduce prosecutorial misconduct?
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17 comments:
This Bradley can’t seem to be stopped from his "in your face" miscarriage of justice. Michael Morton had his wife taken from him, denied the privilege to raise his son all because the local DA was too lazy to find the real killer. Then after 25 years the protégé of this local DA now DA himself is doing everything to cover up for his mentor. With this guy Bradley who has a history of these types of shenanigans and our state Bar seemingly turning a blind eye is saying Texas DA’s appear incapable of justice. Even our governor is ok with this guy and has called upon his cleaning services. How foolish are we as a society, as attorneys that we allow this guy to be anywhere near anything that resembles a judicial system? If Rick Perry is elected to the white house this Bradley may have an important position nationally. For this guy to be allowed to continue to practice law makes a mockery of our judicial system. I realize this is nothing new but the system of cronyism needs to get it together because information age exposes their ugliness way to easy compared to 50 years ago.
Bradley is a thug who should be in prison.
This is awesome! Expose them, please. There are others, including children and teens who have been falsely accused and taken from their homes under this regime. Shine some light on the darkness of Williamson County. I am thankful for Mr. Morton's strength and for those "yankee" lawyers (Attorney Raley, too).
Hey, Bradley! Knock it off! What is wrong with this guy? Can you imagine the hell that'll be raised if he's nominated and confirmed for USAG? From one criminal justice professional to another, please sit down and shut up. You swore an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Texas. No where in that oath does it say you are obligated to cover your ass and screw over innocent people.
This is awesome! Please, expose them. There are others who have been wrongfully convicted including children and teens who were taken from their homes by this regime.
I am thankful for Mr. Morton's strength and for the "yankee" lawyers (Attorney Raley too). Please continue to shine light on the darkness that envelopes the Williamson County Courthouse.
Since when are there 'agreements' when it comes to Justice and the truth? What a frickin travesty for Morton, and the fates of all those still locked up that were innocent from the start.
So tell me is it time for our Guy Fawkes mask, and some explosives yet?
The words in your title made me think of that old movie "short-circuit." Maybe we should start calling Bradley "Johnny 5."
bradley should be on his knees daily. if this was me. he'd be too busy running for his life to worry about covering his ass!
since i would be ready and willing to do to him what he did to me!
take my life!
Bradley at his best and he considers himself an "expert" teaching other DA's how to conduct their offices. Watch his mouth, if it's moving he's lying. And yes, the most important reason not to vote for Perry is the AG position.
http://d2o6nd3dubbyr6.cloudfront.net/media/documents/bradley_withdrawal_motion.pdf
Updated from Texas Tribune - Bradley says it was all a misunderstanding. Sorry, I fell out of my chair laughing. Bradley at his best.
HEY BRADLEY, BEWARE THE PEOPLE OF WILCO ARE AFTER YOU AND ALL OF YOUR BUDDIES NOW. IT IS TIME FOR ALL OF YOU TO GO,(SOMEWHERE). IT IS TIME THAT WE SEE TO IT THAT YOU ARE ESCORTED FROM THIS STATE!!!!!
WOW! I had considered many, many reasons not to vote for Perry, but this Bradley for AG had not even crossed my mind. OMG! But I have a question. Why are Perry's opponents not concentrating more on this relationship, and Cameron Todd Willingham, and the FSC investigation, etc. I would be hammering this incessantly!
Bradley couldn't even be confirmed by the Texas Senate for the Forensic Science Commission, which IMO is why Perry did not appoint him (as was widely anticipated) to the vacant slot on the Court of Criminal Appeals. If the TX Senate turned him down, the US Senate would never approve him. No way, no how he becomes US AG.
Grits, you're probably right about his ability to get confirmed. But, isn't it scary that a man who has appointed scum like Bradly and Jack Skeen (appointed as a district judge after a career as a DA involving significant, well known prosecutorial misconduct) to certain offices, is a frontrunner for the office of President of the US.
If it weren't for the pesky confirmation process, he could appoint Bradley, Skeen, and Mike Nifong to the Supreme Court.
I just find it scary that people buy Perry's "man of faith" crap when the man obviously has no integrity or regard for justice and the truth.
Bradley is exhibit one in why Perry should NOT be President.
It wasn't until Williamson county judges recused themselves off Morton's case and Judge Harle was appointed to take over that Bradley knew that the jig was up. Only then did he perform a 180 degree turn and agree that Morton was innocent. Now it turns out the reason he did this was to moot the need for further investigation into prosecutorial misconduct. No wonder citizens are terrified of standing up to the Williamson county justice system. The DA's and Judges are intellectually dishonest. Despite all the bad press Bradley has had this past year, I bet anyone a million bucks he will be re-elcted in perpetuity--that is, unless Gov. erry appoints him to a judgeship. Williamson county citizens WAKE UP!
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