Rumors are circulating that the court of inquiry initiated by Michael Morton's attorneys against Williamson County District Judge (and former District Attorney) Ken Anderson may be reset for Feb. 4, from the currently scheduled date of Dec. 10. More on this if and when it materializes, but from the standpoint of educating legislators and the public, from Grits' perspective early February is a fine time to delve into the sordid details of the causes and consequences of perhaps Texas' most high-profile false conviction.
Besides, postponing till February will give everyone including your correspondent time to finish reading Pam Colloff's massive, two-part tome on Michael Morton's framing and exoneration, see here and here. My deadline for doing so is shorter than yours, though, because Pam has graciously assented to a podcast interview about her story we're going to record on Dec. 3, so look forward to that coming out sometime that week.
UPDATE: The Texas Tribune confirmed reports that the court of inquiry has indeed been delayed until Feb. 4.
They'll just keep delaying it until everybody forgets about it.
ReplyDeleteThis would be the second delay, after all.
If Anderson could put Michael Morton on trial only six months after Christine's murder, then Anderson should have had to answer for his crimes within six months of his malfeasance being discovered.
Meantime, Anderson remains on the bench, wearing a black robe, and dispensing "justice".
ReplyDeleteIt is past time to bring this man to justice.
Many court actions seem to be a stall. THEY get paid, regardless and ongoing, but they know you will run dry. They make pro-ses wait until the end of the day. They ignore Motions. They use non-judges to rule against you in summary judgment, then refuse to void the case, etc. They just let it lay. They can even rule without due process--you don't get to go to court, have witnesses or anything. They ignore judicial requests. You appeal to the next court, though the previous never took place; and it does the same thing. Their utilization of the law is only for their own convenience; their jobs are their personal goldmines. We can complain all we want, because the lawyers=judges=legislators rule. It's sicker than unions, but the Bar acts are their union. They take "immunities" for which there is no authority. Lawyer-Senators voted in the Bar, in a direct conflict of interest; therefore, it's null and void, from inception. There is no license, just a deal to pay a law school and get a sticker from the lawyer supremes & Bar. It's an impressive collusion AGAINST the Constitution. No one in power dares to cross them; there's no due process and no checks and balances. (And now communitarian law creeps in, over-riding elected officials with appointed committees.) AND who controls the Electronic Voting Machines?
ReplyDeleteEeyikes, it's captcha cha.
Hey Grits, thanks for the update. While visiting the (WCB) Wrongful Conviction Blog, I ran across an article by Mr. Mark Godsey regarding the upcoming date of the so-called 'inquiry' (aka: Fake Court).
ReplyDeleteHe mentioned that another slug that goes by the name Bradley, fought for years to block the DNA testing that Mr. Morton sought. Then after the testing proved another human was the donor of the sample, he went public apologizing (sort of). Despite the act of distancing himself after the fact, I find that he is guilty of conspiring to assist in a cover-up. Why else would he fight to deny. Allowing the current Fox to deny post conviction integrity testing is beyond comprehension. Why this isn't on the reform list is another F-Story in its own.
Since Texas is the only state that has this funky court of inquiry in place (that is never utilized, if it is, someone please show when) it sends two separate messages to the public (the portion that's paying attention). First being that at least something is being done & he'll be found guilty and punished. Second being that this is nothing more than a smoke & mirror illusion or it would be in a 'Real' Court.
Despite this & that, if he flashes his immunity card & pleads the 5th, do you see this simply just going away? Do you know the names of the people on this Fake Court? Lastly, where is this Fake Court located at? Thanks.
Williamson county courthouse. They are in it together. I know them and lived in that world for 15 years
DeleteGrits,
ReplyDeleteDo not be surprised if during Anderson's Court of Inquiry the issue of the JP not conducting an inquest in the Morton death is raised as a defense.
The statute(CCP, Art.49)requires an inquest along with an inquest report of which, a copy must be filed with the district clerk. The inquest report is required to contain all evidence collected, witness statements, law enforcement reports and a JP summary of the inquest investigation. The inquest report is to be the foundation of the Da's prosecution.(AG Opinion 2002 JC-0542)
Since the Williamson County JP did not conduct an inquest or write a report and the autopsy was performed by Bayardo, who was never a duly appointed medical examiner under the statute, or qualified under the constitution, he could not legally perform the autopsy; so Anderson can argue he was a victim of the JP's failure to conduct his statutory duties.
If the JP had conducted the inquest as required under the statute, then all the evidence and statements claimed withheld by Anderson would have been open to Morton's defense attorneys, by way of the inquest report.
A JP's Inquest Report and findings are open to public review, so the question is, can a DA be charged with withholding evidence when the evidence is available to the public already.
I think you would first have to prove the DA knew the JP did not conduct the inquest or requested the JP to not conduct the inquest.
Just something to consider.
that was interesting john
ReplyDelete"They ignore Motions. They use non-judges to rule against you in summary judgment, then refuse to void the case, etc. They just let it lay. They can even rule without due process--you don't get to go to court, have witnesses or anything. They ignore judicial requests"
See i would consider these actions CRIMES and as such they would no longer part of any protected class and so open for retaliation.
Like any other CROOK caught in the act.
well dfisher i would think a lawyer and DA of this govt fucktard's lvl would KNOW he needed the report there fore WHY move forward. Sorry all this means is he's a bigger fucking crook then we though or a bigger RETARD! who had no reason to be doing a job he had no clue what it required.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go with he's just a typical govt fucktard who thinks his shit don't stink and he's THE LAW and nobody can tell him no.
At least till the ropes come out!
In response to one of the above posts: Courts of Inquiry are rare, but not unheard of in Texas practice. A good example was the one held in Lubbock in around 1992 concerning the Ralph Erdman botched autopsy shenanigans. Erdman was then prosecuted in Lubbock and some other counties.
ReplyDeleteThanks to someone we now know of 'one' example of this Fake Court being utilzed in the past 20 friggin years. We also had the pleasure of learning how this Fake Court rarely conducts business' (loopholes & all). Thanks again. Now, if we just knew the names, political affiliation(s) & how they get this cushy Fake-ass job.....?
ReplyDeleteYes.the word is that the defense wants to delay till February. BUT... the earliest the Assist AG acting as prosecutor could reschedule to would be August 2013! It is clear Anderson is trying to put as much time between Mike's release and exoneration as he can. Hoping people will move on, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteThis is the smarmy side of the law, where the rules are used to obfuscate and delay, while claiming only the most sincere reasons for their antics.
thomas griffith: please do your own research and stop whining that you are not being given answers on a plate. Here's a starter: Look at Chapter 52 of the Texas code of criminal procedure. You can find that on-line. You can then do some googling and use "Google Scholar" to look at some case law. The fact that the procedure is rarely used does not mean it's a state secret. Anymore than the power to remove district attorneys under Chap. 87 of the Local Government Code.
ReplyDeleteI can not believe Gov. Rick Perry has allowed this man ( judge ken Anderson to remain on the bench after finding out about Michael Morton, what does that say about our Gov. I think everyone that has been sentenced under this evil man their case should be reviewed who does he think he is ? they don't get any worst than this lying scum bag. this man and his side kick john Bradley is guilty as hell he needs to be disrobed off the bench and go to prison and try wearing prison clothes and eat the stuff they call food caged up like a animal the same should apply to him. what ken Anderson & john Bradley did to Michael Morton is un excusable I know there are many more men in prison sentenced by him that does not belong in prison. something needs to be done about this justice system. and sentencing guidelines. its out of control
ReplyDeleteWell I can say is that Ken Anderson is a lien mother fuker cause he has sent my husband to prison for 60 year and we have 9 kids together and he has been in there for about 3 years... Ken Anderson has wrongfully sent my husband cause he never showed any evidence when went to court... and I think Ken and john Bradley need to both be in prison for what they done to Michael Morton....THEY ALSO NEED TO REVIEW EVERYONES CASE BECAUSE MY HUSBAND WAS SENT TO PRISON BY KEN ANDERSON...WILCO ARE ALL CROOKED AND I WAS BORN THERE AND KNOW HOW THEY ARE!!!!!!!! WE NEED WILCO REVIEWED. BY THE STATE
ReplyDelete