The latest Sharon Keller news from The Texas Tribune.
Paxton promised to go after the Republican judges over their 2021 ruling that struck down the attorney general’s ability to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud. Full Story
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The ruling only pertains to a slice of the law, but open government advocates say the decision “removes a powerful disincentive” put in place to keep public officials from hiding public business. Full Story
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Sharon Keller, the longtime presiding judge of Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals, has tried to move on from several past ethical controversies — including blocking the last-minute appeal of a 2007 execution. A primary challenger hopes voters will reconsider them. Full Story
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Democrat Keith Hampton is focusing his campaign to lead the state’s top criminal court on winning over Republicans. That is the key, he says, to defeating controversial long-time Judge Sharon Keller. Full Story
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Cain quits, James files, the Williamses go for it, and other state campaign news, candidate announcements, retirements and rumors from the past week. Full Story
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Some are waiting to see what the courts will do. Others want to see if any opponents surface. Regardless, with six days to go until the filing deadline, how many incumbents haven't filed yet? A whole bunch. Full Story
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The State Commission on Judicial Conduct isn't giving up on its attempt to reprimand Sharon Keller — in an unexpected move today, it appealed a court's dismissal of its sanction against Keller, the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
A specially appointed court of review vacated the State Commission on Judicial Conduct's sanction of Sharon Keller today, saying the state board acted unconstitutionally in reprimanding the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
On the same day the Texas Supreme Court denied Judge Sharon Keller's request for intervention in her sanction from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, she has filed a second request to appeal the commission's decision. Full Story
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is taking on Judge Sharon Keller's appeal of its sanction. Full Story
Judge Sharon Keller says that in sanctioning her, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct “acted in a lawless, unconstitutional manner.” Full Story
Sharon Keller got a "public warning" from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for refusing to keep her office open past 5 pm on the day a Texas death row inmate was scheduled to die. Full Story
Judge Sharon Keller has been pilloried as the villain of the Texas criminal justice system, but supporters credit the chief of the state's highest criminal court with working to ensure fair trials for impoverished defendants. Full Story
The investigation into Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Chief Justice Sharron Keller is closer to a conclusion today. Earlier this year a judge recommended that Keller should not be sanctioned after she was accused of closing the clerk's office and blocking a final appeal for death row inmate Michael Wayne Richard. Ben Philpott, who reports for KUT News and the Tribune, has more on today’s judicial oversight panel hearing. Full Story
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Before adopting the Fair Defense Act in 2001, Texas was considered abysmal in legal circles when it came to providing representation for the poor. Proponents and critics of the current system agree the situation has improved since lawmakers started requiring counties to implement minimum representation standards. But has it improved enough? Full Story
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Sharon Keller isn’t as meticulous on her personal finance reports as she is particular about court closing time, the Texas Ethics Commission found today. Full Story
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The Chief Justice of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals should not be reprimanded for actions that led to the execution of a death row inmate in 2007: That's the opinion of the judge who presided over her ethics trial last year. Ben Philpott, reporting for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this story. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story