So, back to Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller. But only because there’s breaking news this afternoon: The Austin American-Statesman’s gotten hold of a notice of formal proceedings from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which says that “Judge Keller’s willful and persistent failure to follow CCA’s Execution-Day procedures…
It’s only been two days, but, sure, why not — back to Judge Sharon Keller, who Fort Worth Democratic State Rep. Lon Burnam wants impeached for refusing to stick around a few extra minutes for a Death Row inmate’s last-minute appeal back in September 2007. She’s worth a mention this…
In January 2008, Matt Pulle profiled Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller, the former Dallas County prosecutor and hamburger heiress who attracted national attention in September 2007 when she closed up shop and went home promptly at 5 p.m. even as condemned inmate Michael Richard’s attorneys were on…
The press release showed up a tad late in the in-box for us to make a 10 a.m. press conference in Arlington. Nonetheless, this heads-up. Local law-enforcement agencies are announcing the kick-off to the Third Annual Great Texas Warrant Roundup, which is “designed to target thousands of defendants with traffic,…
Good Morning America this morning ran a lengthy story about a woman, shown but not identified, who believes that 25 years after she was beaten and raped at knifepoint in her family’s home, the Dallas Police Department has solved the crime. The attack occurred when she was 12, but last…
Two Dallas police officers testified they felt pushed to make at least two DWI arrests per night, but stopped short of saying the department has a quota system, according to court documents obtained by Unfair Park.”It’s not necessarily a quota,” Officer Robert Wilcox told a Dallas jury on January 13…
Last night, the U.S. Attorney’s Office sent word that at 11 a.m. today there would a media conference at the Earle Cabell Federal Building downtown “to announce developments in a pending investigation.” This morning, a second missive arrived with further details: Acting U.S. Attorney James Jacks; Robert Casey Jr., the…
It’s certainly not the most important item on the Dallas County Commissioners Court’s agenda for today. No, that would probably be the commissioners’ vote on whether or not to re-up for a third and final year in a pilot program that houses folks who’ve aged out of foster care, which…
The novella-like media release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which just landed in our in-box, explains the case of Matthew Weigman, also known as the “Li’l Hacker.” He’s a blind 18-year-old “phreak” from East Boston who became infamous last year for his “quick telephone con jobs,” as Wired put it…
Sixty-six-year-old Levander Carlton McLean and his wife Rita Murphy McLean, who’s 21 years his junior, are gonna be spending a little time apart — five years or so, give or take, thanks to U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade, who yesterday sentenced the Garland couple to federal prison for using fake…
Deadspin, with some help from The Smoking Gun, just posted an item in which it breaks down Michael Irvin’s Monday-evening almost-carjacking and finds his story, well, a bit sketchy. As in: “Irvin didn’t report the incident until the following day, more than 24 hours after Monday’s supposed confrontation. And he…
It was bound to happen eventually: Rebecca Aguilar, suspended (and eventually fired) by KDFW-Channel 4 in October 2007 following her parking-lot interview with James Walton, has finally sued the station on the ground that the Fox station terminated “her employment based upon her race.” Her attorney, Steve Kardell, tells the…
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sends word that at 3 p.m. today, Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Standric Choice and two other men are due in U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney courtroom to face allegations that the trio were involved in a steal-to-deal cocaine arrest on Friday. The feds’ allegations follow…
First off, Unfair Park calls dibs on the movie adaptation of the story of Jorge Gomez Pinto Sr. Just so we’re clear. Because what follows, again courtesy the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is a crisply written tragicomic short story about a restaurant owner who’s due in Fort Worth federal court at…
Not every day you get a press release about an law firm being sentenced in federal court. But such a missive just arrived in the Unfair Park in-box courtesy the U.S. Attorney’s Office concerning yesterday’s sentencing of Trey Allen, P.C., the Firm Formerly Known as The Law Office of John…
If you’re a “tactical knife enthusiast,” then you’ll take particular interest in a federal class-action lawsuit filed yesterday against Wal-Mart, Cabela’s, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Dicks Sporting Goods and others retailers. Four folks, including one from Mesquite, are represented by Dallas attorney Allen Stewart, and in court documents they claim…
Griffin Bell, Jimmy Carter’s U.S. Attorney General, died yesterday at the age of 90; he’d been suffering from pancreatic cancer in an Atlanta hospital. News of his death has resurrected an old Dallas story — that of Santos Rodríguez, the 12-year-old boy who, in July 1973, was shot in the…
Some random notes with which to start your final day of winter vacay. Last night I briefly toyed with the idea of attending the final Cotton Bowl to be held at the actual Cotton Bowl, but an anticipated record crowd of 88,175 — what you get when you combine a…
First he leaves At the Movies; now, he’s no longer the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. As of tomorrow, Richard Roper’s back in the private sector, working for Thompson & Knight, after four years spent as U.S. Attorney. Course, this was inevitable: Barack Obama will pick a…
Sandwiched between reports of strangulations, strikings and stolen cars on Saturday’s Dallas Police Department crime report is this item from the Fiesta at 9727 Webb Chapel Road in Northwest Dallas: “AP ATE A CHOCOLATE DONUT AND LEFT WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT.” And, yes, “AP” means the guy was arrested –…
If you had Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins in your office’s Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year pool, well, collect your winnings. (This no doubt displeases Dallas County Commissioner Ken Mayfield, who says in the piece that Watkins and his DNA exonerations are “costing the taxpayers $480,000 per…
How many shopping days left till Christmas, Don Hill? Dang, then we’d best hurry! A couple of housekeeping items this morning, including the disappointing news of a scheduling change. You can cross January 20 off your calendar if you were planning on attending the trial of former Dallas Mayor Pro…
