From the Austin American-Statesman:
A special court of review did not rule Friday on Judge Sharon Keller’s motion to void a rebuke over a 2007 death-row appeal that never got filed in her court, the Court of Criminal Appeals.
The review court had said it would try to decide by Friday whether to dismiss the charges against Keller or proceed with her appeal of the rebuke by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The agency found that Keller violated her judicial duties by closing her court to an after-hours appeal from inmate Michael Richard, who was executed later that night for rape and murder.
The three-judge panel, formed to hear Keller’s appeal of the rebuke, may rule next week, said Osler McCarthy, spokesman for the Texas Supreme Court.
Keller appeared before the special court last month to push for dismissal now, avoiding a three-day trial at the end of November over whether the rebuke was justified.
