The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it’s like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the “ridiculous” idea that she doesn’t care about defendants or indigent defense.
Judiciary of Texas
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Sharon Keller: The TT Interview
The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it’s like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the “ridiculous” idea that she doesn’t care about defendants or indigent defense.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Inquiring Minds
Judge Charlie Baird will decide today whether to recuse himself from an investigation into the innocence of Cameron Todd Willingham, the Corsicana man executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three young daughters. But with or without Baird, a bigger question is in play: Is a court of inquiry the appropriate venue to consider Willingham’s guilt or innocence?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Still No U.S. Attorneys for Texas
The protracted U.S. attorney appointment process has claimed its latest casualty: Michael McCrum, who withdrew his name from consideration on Thursday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Audio: TT Interview with Justice Eva Guzman
The Supreme Court Justice on being the first Latina on the court, whether judges should be elected, whether the all-Republican high court is too one-sided and whether Texas has seen enough tort reform.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Eva Guzman: The TT Interview
The Supreme Court justice on being the first Latina on the court, whether the all-Republican high court is too one-sided and whether Texas has seen enough tort reform.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge Orders TWIA Settlement Kept Private
In an issue that’s sparked a nasty political fight, attorneys for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and attorneys for the homeowners who sued them appeared at a Monday hearing to argue whether the legal fees in a record $189 million Hurricane Ike settlement should be kept private. Judge Susan Criss ultimately sided with homeowners’ attorney Steve Mostyn and granted a new temporary restraining order that keeps TWIA from releasing settlement details, at least for now.
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Dirty Words
It’s still poisonous in Texas politics to be painted with the trial lawyer brush.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bed-Mal
Is a hospital bed an integral part of medical care? As a federal judge considers the constitutionality of Texas’ 2003 medical malpractice reform — and Gov. Rick Perry campaigns for more lawsuit restrictions — the state Supreme Court has ruled that hospital injuries seemingly unrelated to doctor error can fall under Texas’ stringent medical malpractice caps. Some legal observers say the decision is a perversion of legislative intent, but tort reform advocates contend the high court simply closed a huge loophole in liability reforms.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Witch Hunters?
Talking point No. 1 for an elected official facing an ethics investigation in Texas: Blame the politicization of the Public Integrity Unit, which is funded by the Legislature but operates out of the district attorney’s office in heavily Democratic Travis County.
