Litigation

Appeal Bid: When a Judge Behaves Badly?

By Peter Hardin

How closely will the Supreme Court review the integrity of lower courts?

An answer may come in an unusual case where a Texas defendant, who was sentenced to death, has told the high court that the judge in his murder trial had been sleeping with the prosecutor.

A New York Times article documents the story of defendant Charles Dean Hood; Texas Judge Verla Sue Holland; and the prosecutor, Thomas S. O’Connell Jr. It notes that “it took Mr. Hood almost 20 years to establish” as fact the relationship of judge and prosecutor, but they ultimately “admitted it.”

Seeking a Supreme Court appeal, Hood has enlisted support in a brief from 21 former judges and prosecutors. Thirty legal ethics experts also filed a supportive brief saying, ?A judge who has engaged in an intimate, extramarital, sexual relationship with the prosecutor trying a capital murder case before her has a conflict of interest and must recuse herself.”

“The Supreme Court has lately taken some interest in the integrity of the judicial system,” the Times article notes. It points to the landmark Caperton v. Massey decision,  when the Supreme Court required a judge to step aside from a case because a party to it had given him massive political support. (See Gavel Grab or visit Justice at Stake’s resource page about Caperton.)

In another matter the high court directed a federal appeals court to take  another look at a surprising development;  jurors in a capital murder case gave the trial judge a gift of chocolate fashioned as male genitalia.

Texas’ top criminal court ruled in Hood’s case that he had taken too long bring up the issue of whether a conflict of interest was presented by an affair between a judge and a prosecutor. (See earlier Gavel Grab report.)

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 23, 2010 (boomark / email).