Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Judge Sharon Keller Faces New Ethics Charge

keller_sharon_newProblems continue to mount for Judge Sharon Keller, Chief Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She is already facing a serious ethics charge over her decision to order the Clerk’s Office not to remain open after hours to allow for a final death row appeal. Now, a new complaint has been filed against her for failing to report nearly $2 million in real estate assets. She is also facing an impeachment effort in the Texas legislature.

Judge Keller’s refused to keep court offices open past 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2007, to receive an appeal in the case of Michael Richard, a convicted rapist and murderer. Richard was then put to death that evening. Now, exans for Public Justice, filed new civil and criminal complaints accusing Keller of violating ethics laws by failing to disclose her assets in a series of sworn statements filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Her attorney insists that the failure was inadvertent. The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that she had not disclosed at least seven properties valued at $1.9 million.
In the meantime, Keller is asking the court to pay her attorney costs in defending against the ethics charges related to the death penalty case.

Keller’s omitted properties include two homes in the “Keller family compound,” a vacant commercial lot, and an occupied commercial property adjacent to Keller’s Drive-In. The Drive-in is a hamburger joint run by her dad, Jack Keller — better known as “Cactus Jack.”

For the full story, click here.

9 thoughts on “Judge Sharon Keller Faces New Ethics Charge”

  2. AY,

    Wow. I’ll have to say I’m even more impressed with the level of her stupidity now. And I’ll have to say I’m also pleased that she seems to have made a lot of local enemies from this judging by that article. Texas may not be a totally lost cause after all.

  3. Buddha Is Laughing,

    We are not taking just one or two. I think it is about 2.4 million she forgot to report.

    “In her financial disclosure statements, Judge Keller repeatedly omitted reference to her ownership interest in several residential and commercial properties that could be valued close to $2,000,000,” the experts state in their declaration. In a footnote, the experts cite The Dallas Morning News’ March 30 article alleging that Keller failed to disclose $2 million in real estate assets on her campaign financial reports to the Texas Ethics Commission.

    Link:
    http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202430072944&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

  4. AY,

    I knew her Dad owns Keller’s (I will not lie and say they don’t make a good burger), but not about the assignments. This isn’t going to go well for Pops either if they’re that entangled.

  5. Buddha,

    One thing that she will probably hang on is that she failed to disclose millions in assets. Her Dad, owns Keller’s Drive ins and has listed her as the owner of numerous buildings.

  7. Awww, now you’ve gone and ruined one of the very few things I actually liked about Dallas. Keller’s makes a great burger. Too bad they financed this moral reprobate and disgrace to the profession.

  8. Well, she’s the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. However, the Texas Supreme Court is in charge of licensing attorneys (my Texas law license has the sigs of those 9, not the ones on the Court of Criminal Appeals), though I can’t see one batch of Republican elists doing anything pf any significance to someone from the other batch – particularly where it involves participation in both of Texas’ national sports: official coruption and executing people who might be innocent.

  9. It does not surprise me in the least about this woman. I think she should be held to the same standard as she has held out for other people.

    Do not forget, that Texas only has the Court of Appeals as the Court of last resort. Then up to the US Supreme Court.

    Don;t forget that the presiding Judge is the one in charge of all the others.

    Other Judges were expecting the case to come in. What she did was reprehensible.

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