The First Innocent Man

The man in the mugshot is Randall Dale Adams, the subject of Eroll Morris' great documentary The Thin Blue Line.  Randall Dale Adams was one of the first Texas death row inmates to be exonerated.  Adams' exoneration for killing a police officer during a traffic stop predated the innocence project and the advent of DNA technology.  It was based on the astonishing efforts of a handful of people including Morris who questioned the illogical sequence of facts and proffered testimony in the case.  In exonerating Adams, Morris et al. demonstrated that highly motivated law enforcement will massage the evidence and testimony to put an innocent man on death row when the underlying crime involves a cop killing.  Big surprise, right?  The following is an excerpt from the Dallas Observer's obituary notice: 

"It's an Everyman's story. It's the story of someone slipping through the cracks -- if you like, a nonfiction Twilight Zone episode." That was filmmaker Errol Morris talking, in 1988, about his documentary The Thin Blue Line -- otherwise known as the film that proved Randall Dale Adams did not kill Dallas Police officer Robert Wood in 1976, despite his having been convicted of the crime and sentenced to die in '77.

Errol Morris did not come to Dallas in 1985 to spring Adams; he didn't even know who he was. The filmmaker had arrived instead to profile Dr. James Grigson, the local psychiatrist known as "Dr. Death," because his expert testimony on behalf of the District Attorney's Office all but guaranteed a death sentence. That's what Adams received, thanks to Grigson, who told the jury he'd kill again if ever released. But Randall told the director: "I'm innocent." Well, of course he was; who on Death Row isn't? But Morris looked into it: "History, properly considered, is a mystery," the director told me in '04 when speaking about The Thin Blue Line. And he discovered: Adams wasn't lying. This is what we wrote in 2007 in summation:

The documentary alleged that [Dallas County District Attorney Henry] Wade's first assistant, Doug Mulder, withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense. Adams' attorney maintained Mulder manipulated key witnesses. Mulder denied that and said he'd simply "forgotten" to turn over a witness statement pointing to another man. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Dallas County to grant a new trial, and then-District Attorney John Vance dropped the charges.

The real cop-killer, David Harris, told the Dallas Times Herald and District Court Judge Larry Baraka shortly after the film's release that he'd lied about Adams's involvement in the shooting. It took a while for D.A. John Vance to come around, but, finally, Adams was released in the spring of '89. Two years later Adams wrote a book about his case in 1991, but finally left Texas a few years later to lead "a quiet life in Columbus, Ohio." And that is where he died in October, at the age of 61. Few knew of his quiet farewell till an obit appeared in yesterday's paper, buried in the Metro section; the Associated Press picks up the tale today.

Adams wasn't the first whose wrongful conviction in Dallas County became national news; before Randall Dale Adams, Errol Morris and The Thin Blue Line, there was Lenell Jeter, Morley Safer and 60 Minutes. And God know he wouldn't be the last, as the parade of exonerees from the Dallas County courthouse reminds every few months. But as Adams's longtime attorney -- Randy Schaffer of Houston, who took the case pro bono in '82 -- tells the AP: "Within the context of the modern criminal justice system as we know it, he was the first innocent man, the first death row inmate exonerated based on innocence, even though in the court's opinion he was exonerated on the state's use of false testimony."
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I vividly remember watching Morris' documentary and being awe struck by the horror story at the heart of Morris' film.  It forever changed my view of the death penalty.

For proof that innocent men die in Texas (and elsewhere) look no further than the Bad Lawyer posts on the Cameron Todd Willingham case.  Willingham was murdered by Texas.  Governor Rick Perry, an assessory to the official killing, will be haunted by the spectre of the execution of Willingham, an Op-Ed at the New York Times claimed over the weekend.  Good.

Judge Sharon "Killer" Keller: "I Won!"

Mary Alice Robbins at Texas Lawyer (a publication of Law.com) has this interview with Texas Criminal Court of Appeals Chief Judge, Sharon Keller, who proclaims herself completely exonerated following the eleventh-hour dismissal of ethics charges.  The charges against Keller included, Judge Keller's refusal to hold open the clerk's office for the late-filing of a motion to stay of execution of a Texas death row inmate executed later that evening. 

As you will recall Judge Keller had an appliance repairman to attend to; while the ;lawyers for the late Michael Richard's lawyers' struggled with balky technology, occasioning their late arrival at the clerk's office. 

Dante describes a place where judges like Sharon Keller will find themselves, if not in reality, metaphorically, Judge Keller is already there.  I wouldn't be surprised based on the remarks to the reporter from Texas Lawyer, that Judge Keller already knows.

Frontline: The Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham Examined

Mike Hale at the New York Times reviews the Frontline documentary on the Cameron Todd Willingham execution, the so-called forensic science, and other issues that scream out in the aftermath of this fine piece of Texas "justice."  As both the NYT review and the Frontline episode, “Death by Fire,” tonight, make clear, it isn't over. 

DNA and Death at the Supreme Court

The Texas Tribune has a profile on the case of Texas Death Row inmate, Henry "Hank" Skinner, who's Supreme Court case on issues relating to DNA lit up some of the major law blawgs yesterday.  The legal issues in Skinner's case are examined in Adam Liptak's New York Times article.  According to Liptak, the Supreme Court seemed less interested in the DNA question, than the curious course of Skinner's case particularly, the jurisprudential tactics of his appellate counsel in obtaining certiorari.

Translation:  yeah, ok, somebody's continued existence on the planet turns on what we do, so what;  how did you get in our court, counselor? 

She's Suffered Enough--Judge Sharon Keller Update

At the link you can read the numerous Bad Lawyer stories about "her Honor," Judge Sharon Keller (pic, top), the Texas Chief Criminal Appeals Judge who was too busy to keep the clerk's office open for a couple of extra minutes to receive for filing the petition on behalf of a Texas Death Row inmate, Michael Richards (pic, bottom) who would be executed a few hours later.  If you read the posts, and stories linked to at the various posts you will learn that the executed inmate, Michael Richards, had a meritorious appeal based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, that would in all likelihood have been granted saving his life at least at that moment.   Too bad, for Michael Richards.  As I said, he's dead.

Judge Keller drew a disciplinary complaint for her callous disregard of her judicial responsibilities.  But this being the f*&%^g Republic of Texas, and despite collateral problems with Keller's financial ethics, the disciplinary authorities were moved to reprimand her, only.  Now get this, Judge Keller was so outraged by this miscarriage of justice she appealed.

In the words of Judge Keller's mouthpiece she's "suffered enough!" Now appellate panel has issued its opinion which is at the link, they agree.  There is no discipline for Judge Keller.

Here's the ABAJournal.com story.

Remember Stephen Brodie? He's Innocent.

I told you about Stephen Brodie last July and advised you as a practical matter to avoid being arrested in Texas.  Brodie (pic, above) was arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated ro sexually assaulting a young girl he did not sexualy assault.   No physical evidence connected Brodie to the crime (which in actuality was committed against the 5 year old victim by someone else), and the charges against him followed a marathon interrogation; and, he's deaf.  No interpreter was present.  Ah, . . . Texas, what a country!

According to reporter Jennifer Emily at the Dallas Morning News, Judge Lena Levario has issued an order exonerating Brodie who will soon be released.  Brodie promised in July that if this occurred he was "leaving Texas."

Can't Pay Truancy Fines, That'll Be a Jailin'

I caught this on Fark, over the weekend but the original account is at MySanAntonio.com. Essentially, a Justice of the Peace,  Mary Alice Palacios jailed 18 year old, Francisoco DeLuna--a serial-truant/dropout for unpaid fines of $11,140 that he began to rack-up at age 13. The jailing, involves132 days in the Texas pokey.  So a public defender (ACLU attorney, Gouri Bhat) comes across the story, gets involved and this is when it get's really interesting.  This is from Express-News reporter, Lynn Brezosky's story:

"A public defender who stumbled upon the case intervened and cut the sentence at 18 days. What the defender didn't know was that about 150 youths in the past year had similarly been sent to Hidalgo County Jail over school fines, many involving truancy.

One, Elizabeth Diaz, missed at least two weeks of school and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test while in a cell with drug traffickers, human smugglers and prostitutes.

Almost all the cases had a common denominator: Justice of the Peace Mary Alice Palacios (pic, left).

On July 27, the American Civil Liberties Union named her, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño and eight other justices of the peace in a class action lawsuit alleging teens from one of the poorest counties in the nation were in effect sent to 'debtors prisons' over school fines.

Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra followed with a grand jury indictment of Palacios, charging her with three counts of official oppression, one each for De Luna, Diaz, and Lee Roy Treviño, another alleged victim.  Last week, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended Palacios with pay pending the resolution of the case. After spending 15 minutes in jail, Palacios fired off a public statement accusing Guerra of being a tyrant who was out to get her.

Her attorney and brother, Edinburg Municipal Judge Toribio 'Terry' Palacios, did not return calls for comment. Hidalgo County Executive Officer Valde Guerra said county officials hadn't been officially served in the civil lawsuit, but declined to comment on pending litigation anyway.

District Attorney Guerra said that the grand jury's business was above the scope of personal vendettas and called Palacios' statement 'unbecoming of an elected official.'

While many schools and courts throughout the state are grappling with a growing truancy-related caseload, Palacios' hard-line approach has drawn criticism.  'Truancy's always going to be an inherent problem with schools,' Guerra said. 'I don't think the Valley has a monopoly. How we approach it and how we attack it is really a big issue. You're not going to solve truancy by sending kids to jail.'

Truancy is a family code offense, but Texas law offers schools a more punitive option, a Class C misdemeanor of  'failure to attend school' that carries a fine of up to $500 per offense and is handled in a justice court.

Warrants can be issued to arrest students with outstanding fines after they turn 17, when they become adult offenders.  'It's not constitutional to send somebody to jail if they are simply too poor to pay a fine,' said Gouri Bhat, the ACLU's lead attorney in the case. 'Under Texas law and Supreme Court precedence, you must be given other options.'

The ACLU lawsuit also shows that of the county's nine justices of the peace, only Palacios had an agreement that split fines with the school district and had the school district help pay for Palacios' space and staff.  The 40-page complaint also lays out details that might not have come out in the frenzy of Palacios' truancy court, which at times was held in a high school gym because of the caseload."
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Gotta love how the "Judge" howled when the tables turned and she found herself spening a few minutes behind bars.

How did we get to the point that we allowed "debtors' prison" to return to American jurisprudence?  How does debtors' prison contribute to the goal of paying debt?

Dick Move: Lawyer Outing Transgendered Former Client

The following story is courtesy of the Houston Press, and reporter Craig Malisow:

The case of whether a fallen Wharton firefighter's benefits should go to his transgender widow (pic, left) just gets exponentially weirder: Frank Mann (pic, below), the lawyer representing Thomas Araguz's ex-wife, is facing investigation by the State Bar of Texas's disciplinary office for a possible ethics violation related to an e-mail he sent 'outing' the widow, Nikki Araguz, during her mayoral campaign.

Mann represented Araguz and her first husband in a 2002 bankruptcy case. Earlier this year, he represented Heather Delgado, Thomas Araguz's ex-wife, in a bitter custody dispute, and is now representing her in a motion to void Nikki's and Thomas' 2008 marriage. In an April deposition of Nikki Araguz, Mann got her to admit that she was born Justin Graham Purdue; he also asked about her medical history. Mann then used the information in a May 6 e-mail titled 'Public Information on Nikki Araguz who is running for Mayor of Wharton, Texas.'

He would not say how many people he sent the e-mail to, but it became public during Araguz's race for Wharton mayor this spring  Mann's e-mail kicks off with 'Occasionally you get a case that makes the papers or Jerry Springer,' and just gets classier from there.  '..I am sending this to you because you are a friend of mine and the deposition is public knowledge. I think the citizens of Wharton Texas should know this information....Nikki Purdue Araguz is the stepmother in a case of mine and she gave testimony that she is a transgender. She is a he. Her birth certificate states that she is male. She has multiple felony convictions in Harris County...and is on probation in Wharton County for possession of a controlled substance.'

That bit in ellipses? That's where he disclosed a portion of her medical history.

Mann signed off with, 'If you would like to discuss this with me, call me on my cell...' (You can see more discussion on this e-mail on the YouTube page of Cristan Williams, executive director of the Transgender Foundation of America).

Nikki Araguz filed a complaint with the State Bar of Texas. It appears the complaint was initially dismissed, but that on June 29 the Board of Disciplinary Appeals granted Araguz's appeal and issued her a letter stating it would "return the case to the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for investigation and a determination whether there is just cause to believe that the attorney has committed professional misconduct." The Board's letter indicates that the investigation would center on rules 1.05 and 1.06 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, which deal with client confidentiality and conflict of interest. (The paperwork indicates that Mann has 30 days to respond to Araguz's complaint before an investigation would begin).

It's not Mann's first dance with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel: in 1990, Mann agreed to a fully probated 36-month suspension for 'misrepresentations of fact concerning the dates of his hospitalization for alcohol and substance abuse in an affidavit offered in support of a motion to retain.' (The suspension was stayed; he was allowed to actively practice, but was placed on probation.) The Office of Disciplinary Counsel also ruled that, in one case, Mann 'assigned away 100 percent of any attorney's fees' and then 'intervened in the pending lawsuit, claiming an interest in attorney's fees.' In 1997, Mann was suspended for five and a half years and was not eligible to practice for the first 36 months. In that case, among other things, the Counsel found that Mann's paralegal 'affixed [a] client's signature from a prior document to a proposed modification, without the client's consent.' Mann wasn't in the office at the time, but he was 'responsible for supervision and instruction of his staff and for ensuring that his staff follows the law and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.'

Mann [claims] that all of the information in his May 6 e-mail was gleaned from the deposition, and not from his earlier representation of Araguz and her first husband. He said all the information was public and he was only releasing it because the people of Wharton had the right to know about a mayoral candidate's criminal record. (Although Mann told us he was more concerned about Araguz's drug and theft convictions and not her sexual identity, the e-mail itself indicates otherwise.)

We're not clear on what a person's medical history has to do with running for mayor in a town of 10,000. We're also not clear why Mann felt obligated to share this information. Lastly, we wonder if he regularly e-mails his pals about shit that comes up in depositions and invites people to call him on his cell for more gossip.

'I think that people needed to know information about her background of felony convictions for theft....the people in Wharton, Texas, did not know anything about her background,' Mann said.  He also said that, when he represented Nikki Araguz in the 2002 bankruptcy, he did not know anything about her sexual identity and only focused on financial matters. 'I was informed from my client, Heather Delgado, about rumors about Nikki,'  Mann said"
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This is simply said, the story of a lawyer lacking the character and fitness to be a lawyer in most states lets say--other than Texas.  Frank Mann took sensational information about a former client and used it against her in a matter clearly presenting the sort of conflict of interest where under any normal circumstance he should have declined representation.  Then Mann disclosed confidential information obtained against the former client to torpedo her campaign for public office.

This guy is a menace and a disgrace.  Of course, this is also Texas where the Clerk's office doesn't remain open to stay the execution of someone needin' executin' or where an inmate who spends 27 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, might just spend another day or two if he gets a little rowdy when the deputies clamp cuffs and leg irons on him while they walk him into the courtroom to be released.  The Republic of Texas is a wondrous place . . . it ain't Kansas, Toto.

Innocent Houston Inmate Treated Disgracefully and Dishonorably by Judge and Law Enforcement

The Houston Chronicle documents the disgraceful and dishonorable conduct of the Texax Judge and Court in their handling of the exonerated Texas inmate who worngfully spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit and spent one more 24 hours by judicial fiat.  Be outraged, this is Brian Rogers' story:

A Houston man expected to be freed Thursday after being imprisoned 27 years for a rape he did not commit had to wait at least one more day after shouting from a holding cell and threatening bailiffs and jailers. Michael Anthony Green reacted 'emotionally' to the reality of his release, said Bob Wicoff, his attorney. 'He was threatening everybody and anybody, but nobody,' Wicoff said. Wicoff said he did not hear Green, 45, threaten anyone specifically.

Green blew up after he was put in handcuffs and leg irons for the walk to court, Wicoff said. He also said the jailer who handcuffed Green jerked his arm roughly and put the cuffs on too tight.

'There was no reason to put leg irons on a guy who is getting out,' Wicoff said. 'It's totally ridiculous[.]
In a jailhouse interview with KHOU Thursday night, Green blamed the outburst on his anger at a guard he said was hurting his wrists and forcing him to walk faster than the shackles would allow. Asked what it was like to have spent 27 years in prison for something he did not do, he said, 'Think of the most precious thing in your world, and then imagine having it taken away.'

Despite the events earlier in the day, the reporter described Green as almost jovial. Green said, 'I got over being angry a long time ago because, at some point, you realize it's just not worth it.'

Green's family members, who were in court, said he should have been released regardless of his behavior.

'This is ridiculous,'  said Green's aunt, Brenda Murray. 'The judge and everybody else should be ashamed of themselves. This is bad.'

[H]e was visited by his defense attorney from 1983, Bill Harmon. Harmon, now a Harris County court-at-law judge, said it was a 'mystery' why Green was not released.  'I can't tell you why he's not out today,' he said Thursday. 'He should have been released today because he's innocent.'

Harmon said Green was offered a five-year prison sentence for the 1983 aggravated rape of a woman who was abducted by four men in the Greenspoint area. He was convicted on faulty eyewitness identification by the victim and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Wicoff has blamed Green's conviction on shoddy police work, saying the then-18-year-old was identified by the victim in a photo array and a lineup after seeing him in the back of a police car and initially saying he was not involved.

After DNA from the victim's jeans was tested last year, prosecutors identified all four men suspected in the crime, including the three believed to have committed the sexual assault. Three of the men have gone to prison for other crimes and two still are behind bars.
[ . . . ]

After the case was reset for today, Wicoff said his client was angry and needed another day to compose himself before having bond set while the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rules on his actual innocence.

'That wasn't really the issue, how he would act in the courtroom,' Wicoff said. 'The issue is whether he is emotionally stable enough to get out. Or did he just need a little bit more time.' Alan Bernstein, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office, said Green threatened bailiffs and jailers on the way to his cell and in the holdover cell, which is adjacent to the courtroom. Bernstein said no charges were filed for the outbursts. He said Green was shackled hand and foot because he was brought back to Harris County from prison in Huntsville as a convicted violent offender. When processed by jailers, Green was put in administrative segregation because of the crime for which he was convicted. He also was put in a cell by himself. As part of administrative segregation protocols, Bernstein said, Green was handcuffed and locked in leg irons to go to court.

Green was expected to be granted a personal recognizance bond by visiting state District Judge Mike Wilkinson Thursday. He was not brought into the courtroom, but his shouting could be heard from the court's holdover cell.

'This has been a gross perversion of justice, and he's a smart guy and he knows it,' Wicoff said. [ . . . ]

They need to let him out,'  Taylor said. 'I can feel his pain. I know he's upset. He just wants to be free.'
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Here's the thing, this poor human being has been institutionalized for 27 years with the worst of the worst.  Do you think he's equipped to stay out of trouble?  Do you think Texas authorities will ever let him alone? 

He needs to leave Texas, with his family and begin his life somewhere where he will not be under the Texas microscope.  He jaywalks, Texas will have him on death row.

The Paris, Texas Police Using Appropriate Force

After annoying commercial watch the Paris, Texas police using appropriate force:



uh, huh.