Judge Keller Should Not Be Punished

Originally, I was going to call this post "The Examiner Crapped Out" to keep with my dice theme from the previous posts on this subject, but I felt it was too downbeat.

In any event, Judge David Berchelmann, issued his findings today in the removal proceedings. Here's a link to Mary Alice Robbins take on it from Texas Lawyer. And here's a link to the findings. I expected actual "findings" rather than having the judge basically call everyone into the living room while he tells us the story of what happened from his favorite rocking chair. But, I'm not familiar with how these things go, so I don't know if his format is truly that weird. He certainly takes everyone to task to some degree (even the misleading media reports get some share of blame), but ultimately, he felt that The Texas Defender Service was to blame:

"Judge Keller's silence on several occasions conflicts with the ideal that courts should foster open communication among court staff and litigants. But Judge Keller's omission did not cause the TDS to be late in its filings, to forget the other available avenues, or to fail to have any of its experienced lawyers contact the TCCA. She did not violate any written or unwritten rules or laws. Of course, that does not absolve her of the responsibility to ensure that the courts remain fair and just. Her conduct, however, does not warrant removal from office, or even further reprimand beyond the public humiliation she has surely suffered."

Of course, both sides can object to these findings. I can't imagine they won't, but I hope they don't. I'm also pre-emptively tired at the thought of the complaints that the fix was in based upon political affiliation. But the findings read pretty reasonably in light of what I'd read about the events, and for now, common sense prevails.