Judge Who Refused Late Appeal to Argue Lawyers Exaggerated Computer Snafu
A Texas judge facing ethics charges for refusing to accept a late-filed emergency appeal to delay an inmate’s imminent execution is targeting defense lawyers who sought the stay.
Judge Sharon Keller argues that lawyers for death-row inmate Michael Richard fabricated or exaggerated computer problems blamed for the late filing, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Keller’s lawyer, Chip Babcock, told the newspaper that his client will take the position that there was no computer problem. “There will be testimony that [Richard’s lawyers]—maybe—had e-mail problems for a few minutes in the afternoon,” he said.
The newspaper examined depositions provided by agreement of the parties, and concluded that they show Richard’s lawyers may not have been able to complete their work by the court’s deadline even if they had no computer problems. And the extent of computer problems wasn’t clear. Richard’s lawyers said the snafus interfered with their work. Keller’s forensic computer expert, on the other hand, found no evidence of a series of computer crashes, but said he couldn’t rule out computer trouble.
