Sharon Keller
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Sharon Keller (b. 1953) is the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She was first elected to the court in 1994, and is the first woman ever elected to this court, which is the highest court in Texas as regards criminal matters. She was elected as its presiding judge in 2000, and was re-elected to the court in 2006 in the state's partisan judicial elections as a Republican.
Her current term ends in 2012.
Education
Keller graduated from Rice University in 1975. She received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University in 1978.[1]
Professional milestones
- Distinguished Alumni Award for Judicial Service from the SMU Dedman School of Law.
- Chairman of the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense.
- Member, Executive Board of the Capitol Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
- Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation
- Member, Judicial Advisory Council to the Community Justice Assistance Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Michael Richard death penalty
On September 25, 2007, Keller declined to hear a plea from Michael Richard for a 20-minute extension to submit a death penalty appeal beyond the 5:00 p.m. closing time of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Richard was executed later that night.
Earlier on September 25, the U.S. Supreme Court had accepted Baze v. Rees, a Kentucky case in which two death row inmates challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution.
Keller stated that the court's clerk office would close at 5pm, which is required by state law. Judge Keller later stated that it has long been precedent in Texas for late appeals to be hand-delivered to the court or a judge, and not required to be filed with the clerk. Also, the inmate's attorney has been questioned about why he failed to file a handwritten motion for stay of execution before or after 5pm. Had he filed the motion, even if rejected, he would have been able to demonstrate to the Supreme Court that the state appeals process had been exhausted.
After these events, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals changed its rules to allow for email submissions in death penalty cases and other emergency situations. On April 16, 2008, the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in the Baze case, upholding Kentucky's method of execution.
Real estate holdings not disclosed
The Dallas Morning News claimed on March 30, 2009 that Keller had "failed to abide by legal requirements that she disclose nearly $2 million in real estate holdings."[2]
Keller is the subject of an ethics complaint filed by the Texas Commission of Judicial Conduct. The complaint says that she violated her duties in the Michael Richard death penalty case.
Keller has sought to have the charges dismissed, saying that it would be "financially ruinous" for her to pay a private attorney or law firm to fight the allegations.[2]
At issue:
- Keller says the charges violate her right to counsel because Texas will not allow her current attorney to represent her at taxpayer expense.
- Her attorney says that the cost of mounting a vigorous defense against the allegations would come to several hundred thousand dollars.
- Keller filed a sworn statement, as is legally required, with the Texas Ethics Commission in April 2008 that indicated an income of about $275,000. Her salary from the state is $152,500.
- The statement disclosed that Keller owned airline stock, a home in Austin and a commercial property in Dallas. County tax records valued the properties at about $1 million.
- However, according to the newspaper, the statement did not list:
- Keller's ownership interest in seven other residential and commercial properties in Dallas and Tarrant counties.
- Those properties are valued by county appraisal districts at about $1.9 million.[2]
Judge Keller amended her personal financial statement in April of 2009 to disclose more than $2.4 million in property and income previously left out. Keller claims that her failure to fully disclose her financial information stemmed from error and not a deliberate attempt to mislead. She "faces a civil and criminal complaint alleging she violated state ethics laws by failing to fully disclose her financial assets". [3]
External links
References
- ↑ Sharon Keller Biography, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dallas Morning News, "Judge Keller's disclosures omit nearly $2 million in real estate, public records show", March 30, 2009
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News "Judge Sharon Keller amends financial report to include $2.4 million in assets" May 1, 2009
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