Sharon Keller the Subject of Impeachment Resolution

State Representative Lon Burnam of Fort Worth has filed a proposed resolution (HR 480) that seeks to initiate impeachment proceedings against Sharon Keller, the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Burnam’s resolution is based on the events of September 25, 2007, when Judge Keller refused to allow attorneys for Michael Richard, who was executed later that evening, to submit a filing after 5:00 p.m. From the DMN:

Keller refused to allow the Court of Criminal Appeals to stay open past 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2007, even though Richard’s attorneys had called and asked for extra time to file their appeal because of computer problems. He was put to death by lethal injection hours later.

Earlier that day, the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to review the constitutionality of lethal injection in a Kentucky case.

…After the Richard case caused an uproar, the Court of Criminal Appeals decided to allow emergency e-mails in death penalty cases, rather than require attorneys to physically file the paperwork at the court.

The Texas court had been one of the few in the nation that did not accept filings electronically.

Richard’s attorneys requested an extra 20 minutes to submit their motion, which apparently would have asked the court to postpone Richard’s execution in light of the SCOTUS decision earlier that day.

Further, Keller apparently closed the court without consulting her fellow judges, some of whom stayed after hours in anticipation of a late filing in the case.

The FWST has more on Burnam’s resolution:

Burnam, D-Fort Worth, said he filed the resolution, which alleges gross neglect of duty, after he got no response from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to letters demanding action against Keller.

“I am outraged,” Burnam said. “We have been ignored. So we’re trying another venue.”

The resolution can be read here. The text includes the following:

The committee shall conduct an investigation to consider whether to recommend that under Section 1, Article XV, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 665, Government Code, the House of Representatives adopt and present to the Texas Senate articles of impeachment against Judge Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, for gross neglect of duty and conducting her official duties with willful disregard for human life in connection with her actions on the evening of September 25, 2007, including her apparent irresponsible refusal to abide by the prior practice of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in order to receive the appeal of Michael Richard, which conduct may have resulted in Mr. Richard's deprivation of life without due process of law as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Section 19, Article I, Texas Constitution, by means of a potentially unlawful execution by lethal injection, and in the embarrassment of the State of Texas in a manner that casts severe doubt on the impartiality of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the entire criminal justice system of this state.

I don’t expect this resolution to get very far, but Keller’s outrageous actions on September 25, 2007, understandably caused a sensation, and I welcome the additional attention. It’s too early to end the discussion.