State Bar Seeks Disciplinary Action Against Anderson
On the one-year anniversary of Michael Morton’s release from prison, the State Bar of Texas filed a disciplinary case against the prosecutor who secured his wrongful murder conviction. The lawyer oversight agency alleges that former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson — now a state district judge — deliberately withheld evidence and made false statements to the court during Morton’s 1987 trial.
Anderson, who was appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Perry in 2002 and who the State Bar named “Prosecutor of the Year” in 1995, is facing civil and criminal legal action and could be disbarred if he ...
Comments (4)
Samdavis
Too bad jail time isn't an option. However, a nice fat civil judgment would send a message.
David O
Not only is jail not an option but the even if he is removed from office and disbarred, he would still be paid a monthly retirement benefit from the state.
Michael Snyder
It is very troubling to me when important public officials lose credibility so badly their behavior appears nothing less than sinister. I believe a prosecutor's ultimate task is seeking the truth, and cannot perceive of an honest man withholding evidence the first time around much less the second. Mr. Anderson is exposed to no more data, no more information, than many millions of Americans, so how can he account for his incredible memory loss? I doubt my clarity of recall is exceptional, but I can retrieve information - remember - incidents and events that occurred going much further back than 25 years.
In the importance of your life's events how would you rate a man's life, a man's life that was literally in your hands. I don't know what happened, but for a judge to claim he doesn't know what happened is difficult to believe. "I don't remember" is by now viewed by many as akin to taking the Fifth Amendment. It is incredible, unbelievable to think a sharp, highly trained person - a healthy person - would have no problem recalling details of a murder investigation that took place in 1987. Unfortunately, if found guilty of the charges there appears little could be done to punish Mr. Anderson other than accept his resignation.
Mauna Loah
I hope and pray they nail the Prosecutor. It is a know fact that Prosecutors try almost everything to win a case so they can get another notch on their belt. They list the number of "wins" in order to get another job or position as a "Judge". There are too many people who go to prison who are innocent. The stories are leaked to the press who is partly responsible for causing a "guilty" verdict. They sensationalize stories, and the jucier they can make it, the more papers they sell. Prosecutors should be held accountable, and the law should be changed so Prosecutors would have to serve a prison term that is the same as the prison term the innocent victim had to serve. That would straighten some of those hot dogs out.