Drama Erupts as Anderson Court of Inquiry Nears Its End
A day punctuated by histrionics and anguish in the courtroom was capped off Thursday with at times confounding testimony from Judge Ken Anderson's protege, co-author and friend, former Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley. The ex-prosecutor backed away from previous damning statements he made about his former boss's role in Michael Morton's wrongful conviction, and on the stand said Anderson had not violated a judge's order to turn over evidence in the 1987 trial.
"Mr. Anderson had very high ethical standards," Bradley said. "The decisions I saw him make were always highly ethical."
Anderson, the former ...
Comments (19)
eyeswideopen
Happiness is Anderson AND Bradley spending a little time behind bars. When prosecutors are driven by Look How Many Scalpes I Have syndrome, they need to be deprogrammed.
Scott Kaplan
As I see it, there are really only two questions here:
1. Did Judge Lott order D.A. Anderson to do something he didn't do?
2. At that time did D.A. Anderson have some other legal obligation to do something he didn't do?
Sam Bassett
Trying to unravel what happened 25 plus years ago is a real challenge here, no matter what side of the fence you are on. One distinction I see is the lack of humility by Mr. Anderson in his attempted communications of regret over the situation. Statements such as "I wish I had not been a very good prosecutor...." and the "system didn't work" indicate to me that he feels he did absolutely nothing wrong personally. These carefuly parsed statements show that he is protecting himself and believes he is blameless. That is very disappointing.
Cheryl Gonzales
It seems like they waited for certain people to die off before they set about freeing this man. Thank the Lord for Barry Sheck and the Innocence Project.
Mickey Stevens
Anderson's comments are truly disturbing. He is basically admitting that a "good prosecutor" must withhold evidence to insure that he wins the case. That kind of thinking is just warped. And, it shows he has not learned anything from this case. One has to wonder in how many other cases did he withhold exculpatory evidence--evidence that might have harmed his case. Basically, he seems to believe that, if the evidence will hurt the prosecutors case, only a bad prosecutor would turn it over. I also found his whining about having to pay attorneys interesting. All the defendants that he prosecuted and that have come before him as a judge, except for the indigent ones, have had to pay attorneys. Did he fell any empathy for them? It is also disturbing to think this man is now a judge. No wonder the criminal justice system in Texas is so messed up.
texas07
It seems like Judge Anderson doesn't appreciate that Tarrant County (where Judge Sturns is from) has an open file policy for criminal discovery. Pretty sure it's been that way for decades and they seem to be doing just fine with it.
Mickey Stevens
Anyone else notice that Anderson seems to think this is all about him? He talks about the stress this has caused him and how hard all of this has been on him. Well, I'm sure Mr. Morton experienced some stress by being tried for his wife's murder, not the to mention the 25 years in prison that followed. I suspect that, when he was prosecuting this case, in Mr. Anderson's mind it was also all about him--his win. Unfortunately, too often its not about justice--its just about winning, at all costs.
Adam Russell
I hate to see anyone face being made an example of BUT Anderson's state bar status should be stripped and the Texas Legislature needs to approve a constitutional amendment that would have meant Anderson would see the inside of a jail cell for at least as long as Morton did. I would vote 'yes' for it.
He shouldn't get his District Judge retirement either because he wouldn't be in the position had this come to light 24 years ago. Or maybe it should go to Morton.
If there's justice in this world it won't be dolled out evenly by this inquiry and that is a shame.
The inquiry can't determine for sure whether there was intent but there was certainly misconduct and in my opinion a crime committed.
Prosecutorial misconduct is probably the most egregious act that could happen to anyone outside of rape and murder. Judges and prosecutors should not be immune to the laws they are sworn to uphold in the interest of justice. They should be held to the highest standard by law.
lisa brown
Reading the comments posted on here, I wonder why you people think you personally know where the truth lies. You are behaving like a kangaroo court. Despicable.
R J
Let's put Ken Anderson (can't bring myself to refer to him as 'Judge') before a criminal court jury.
Mickey Stevens
lisa brown said:
"Reading the comments posted on here, I wonder why you people think you personally know where the truth lies. You are behaving like a kangaroo court. Despicable"
The presumption of innocence no longer exists in the criminal justice system (if it ever did). So, any other criminal defendant is considered guilty unless and until he proves his innocence. So, why should Anderson be treated any differently.
Futhermore, in his testimony he admitted to withholding exculpatory evidence. You can argue over technicalities, but he undeniably admitted to withholding certain things because they would harm his case. If it would harm his case, isn't it exculpatory?. Furthermore, he accepts no responsibility and says he wouldn't do anything differently. So, he still doesn't get it. Now, who is "despicable?"
lisa brown
Mickey, you are despicable, sitting on your high horse and acting as judge jury and executioner. You people are like a pack of hounds baying for blood. Maybe you should learn something from Morton.
Mickey Stevens
"Mickey, you are despicable, sitting on your high horse and acting as judge jury and executioner"
Gee Lisa, I didn't know I had that much power. I thought all I was doing was posting comments on a website. I wonder, do you have this kind of compassion for all criminal defendants? Or do you just have some special affection for Mr. Anderson?
Laura House via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I was in the courtroom when Allison said: "I had felt for a really long time that maybe I had really let Michael down somehow", Michael Morton said "No you didn't"
Phillip Baker
Lisa Brown, it is the blind faithful like you who truly disgust me. Clearly you did not sit through this week's proceedings like I did. Whether there was an order- as Kaplan seems so concerned about- is not the issue. A prosecutor, trying a man for murder, ILLEGALLY hid from the defense evidence that clearly was favorable. Why? As Mike said, what possible motivation could he have? Like far, far too many prosecutors today he had forgotten his primary duty, indeed his oath as DA- "Seek justice, not convictions". DA's know if they rack up many convictions, thus proving themselves "tuff on crime", they'll be in line for a judgeship down the road. That Anderson sacrificed Morton's life did not concern him then. And now he actually has the gall to whine about all his stress. And the cost of his defense! Oh cry me a river.
Well, Ms. Brown, I have a right to be part of the pack of hounds. Had this soulless criminal actually done his job, investigated the crime, then he likely would have caught Mark Norwood. But no, Norwood was left on the streets. And on Jan 13, 1988 he murdered Debra Masters Baker, a loving woman, devoted mother, and my wife. You will pardon me if I do not join you in your fulsome sympathies for Anderson. This poor soul for whom you have such concern caused an innocent man to be imprisoned for 25 years along with the loss of his son, whose own life was damaged; left a killer loose to brutally murder Debra; left me to raise our small children alone. And anybody think Norwood just quit killing in 1988? How many other victims were there? When you have spent years raising children whose mother was killed in such a horrific manner, trying to help them make sense of it all, helping them put their lives together, then you come back and tell me what a "pack of hounds" we are. What is disgusting are people like you who will excuse such crimes as Anderson committed just so you can lull yourself into a sense of security. After all, Anderson, like his protege Bradley, were "tuff on crime", right? And that is exactly what the folks in Wilco wanted more than anything. Well, tuff on others' crimes anyway. You folks who idolize this pair knew they were railroading defendants all along, but that was a price you were willing to pay to feel "safe". How many other Mike Mortons did Anderson and Bradley ruin on your behalf? Oh, but you don't care about all that, do you Ms. Brown? Just as long as you feel comfy in your upscale houses, it really doesn't matter. Consult your conscience, if you still have one. But don't expect any sympathy for your despicable support of the crimes this pair committed in your name. Feel shame.
lisa brown
My point to all you histrionic people is that you are judging before the facts. You are entitled to your personal beliefs but, as an observer, who does not live in Texas, much less the USA, I feel that all this "hang him, slam him in prison, cut his head off on the courtroom steps" is an ugly way to behave. You sound like horrible, horrible people.
lisa brown
And Mr Baker, how in the heck do you know what kind of house I live in? You didn't need to fill me in on the facts. I have been reading about this case for a couple of years and have found it very complicated. Unfortunately, it is not just about what happened to you personally but about points of law.
lisa brown
And as an objective reader, one of the main things I took from this case is that Morton's original defence lawyers were woefully inadequate in pursuing and using evidence, some of which was clearly in the public domain. I also get the impression that these lawyers know that, and feel guilty about it.
Dormand Long
Mr. Baker-
My heart goes out to you and your family for the years that you have suffered as a result of the incompetence and criminal misconduct by public employees during the investigation of Mr. Morton's wife.
The Texas Monthly piece indicated that the Sheriff made a rush to judgement and basically cut off his investigators from following up any leads outside Mr. Morton.
Our society as a whole suffers when there is a miscarriage of justice such as this. There are few more powerful positions than that of Sheriff in a rural county.
As the saying goes: "Power corrupts....Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Anyone who has read this piece and this many comments should definitely read John Grisham's
epic non-fiction "An Innocent Man" which has an ironic parallel to the miscarriage of justice in the Morton/Anderson case.
While I have voted with the others in delivering a verdict of guilty in an egregious capital murder trial in Dallas County which lead to life without parole, after reading of the miscarriage of justice in the Morton trial and in the similar trial that Grisham writes of, will this prompt me to ask if there any withheld exculpatory evidence at the next trial in which I sit in the jury box with eleven of my peers?
One thing that does need to be developed is a best practice tool to address the practice of investigators refraining from reducing to writing information received verbally that might result in a degree of reasonable doubt should it be presented to jurors.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Phillip, society and those in positions of trust and power in Williamson County have failed you and there will never be an adequate apology to mitigate your respective losses.
What is critical is that the repercussions of any act of failing to disclose full and complete exculpatory evidence be so severe and so immediate that every DA and ADA should tremble in his/her boots at the thought of being discovered at such a dastardly deed.