NYT editorial: An unfit judge (re: Texas Judge Sharon Keller)

Published: August 20, 2009

Judge Sharon Keller, the Texas appellate court judge who closed the clerk’s office before a death row inmate could file a last-minute appeal, is fighting to keep her job. At a hearing on Wednesday, she said in a crowded courtroom that if she had it to do again, she would do the same thing. That testimony is further proof of why Judge Keller needs to be removed from the bench.

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Judge Keller’s profound lack of appreciation for the seriousness of taking a life — and the obligations it places on the state — is similar to the disturbing dissent that Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas delivered this week in the Troy Davis case. They suggested there was no constitutional problem with executing a man who could prove he was innocent.

We believe the death penalty is in all cases wrong. But people who support it should still insist that it be carried out only after a prisoner has been given every reasonable chance to make his case. Judge Keller’s callous indifference in a case where the stakes could not have been higher makes her unfit for office.

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Related GD thread: Texas judge in death row appeal faces charges

This judge is the outcome of the GOP judicial juggernaut in Texas since 1994. They have recruited and run hanging judges with no concept of rights to the accused or the convicted.

www.sharonkiller.com

Good morning! :)

that a handful of DUers are not the only ones concerned about correct judicial procedure especially as it relates to the state-sanctioned taking of a life.

Sharon Keller, your destiny approaches! :puke:

lawyers, judges and voters. Her behavior reflects profoundly negatively upon the Texas judiciary, and I'm expecting the commission's attorney to deliver findings favoring the integrity of the Texas judiciary and code of conduct.

the Texas Republicans from backing her, in fact it may be a requirement.