Judge Keller to Face Disciplinary Panel

San Antonio, TX - A state judge has found herself in an unfamiliar position, on the defense.

A special judicial commission met Friday to decide if Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller should be kicked off the bench. The hearing last most of the day and an official announcement, on the commission's decision, may not come until later next week.

Judge Sharon Keller arrived wearing a white dress suit for her hearing before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. While she had little to say, others outside of the Reagan office building were quite vocal. Shouting, “She is unfit to sit on the bench,” a small group of protestors made it clear they want Keller out.

“She has irreparably harmed the reputation of the Texas Judiciary system,” said Scott Cobb with the Texas Moratorium Network.

While the protestors walked the sidewalk, inside, members of the judicial commission heard from lead Examiner, Mike McKetta. As a special prosecutor he said Judge Keller let personal beliefs impede justice.

“And when she says this is a fiction and an Orwellian and that she’s right and do the same thing again, there is a serious problem,” said McKetta.

The case against Judge Keller is about the door to the appeals court clerks’ office, and what happened after it was locked for the day on September 25th, 2007. Keller is accused of preventing the defense team for convicted murderer Michael Richard, from filing a motion to delay his execution.

It is an accusation she denies. Commissioners were told the clerk’s office has never, on an execution day, been kept open after 5 pm. They were also told there are ways for motions to be filed after business hours.

Richard’s attorneys have stated they wanted the clerk’s office to stay open late because their computers had crashed and needed extra time. But Keller’s attorney, Charles Babcock, said documents they have obtain indicate dispute that.

“The charges repeat the lie, and it took as one of the judges said, rigorous cross examination or the crucible of cross examination to expose the lie,” said Charles Babcock.

Babcock also argued that the charges against Judge Keller are the result of an effort by anti-death penalty groups to get an elected, pro- death penalty, judge off the bench.

A special investigator has determined Judge Keller did not violate any court rule or state law. It was recommended the commission should drop all charges.

When the hearing concluded, commission members met in private to make a decision. Judge Keller, meanwhile, returned to her office in the appeals court building.