Louis Sturns to oversee Michael Morton 'court of inquiry' over alleged prosecutor misconduct

Gerry Goldstein, Michael Morton, John Raley and Barry Scheck, via AP

Last week, Texas Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson named the judge in the Micheal Morton "court of inquiry" - fellow black Republican state District Judge Louis Sturns of Tarrant County. (Bob Ray Sanders at the Startlegram provides background, for those who need it.) A defense attorney who's practiced a great deal under Sturns told me he's the "nicest guy you'd ever want to meet," though that doesn't mean he won't also hand down extremely long sentences. Most folks seem to think he will be fair, which is all one can ask. See AP's acccount, and Brandi Grissom's coverage. If you're really interested and have the stomach for it, here's the 140+ page report (pdf) that convinced Chief Justice Jefferson to appoint a judge to oversee these unusual proceedings. Fittingly, his decision comes days after the silver (25th) anniversary of Morton's false conviction, a coincidence whose force is heightened by the protagonist's silver hair and beatific camera visage. In most pictures I see of Michael Morton he has a big grin on his face, like the cat who just ate the canary. In the one above he shows no teeth, but his eyes are smiling.

Courts of inquiry are strange birds - a seldom used, Texas specific vehicle for making an end-run around the DA's office to seek an indictment for alleged criminal wrongdoing without ever having the case heard by a grand jury. Lately, attorneys like my boss Jeff Blackburn from the Innocence Project of Texas (Timothy Cole) and Barry Scheck of the national Innocence Project (Todd Willingham) have sought (with 50-50 success) to use the procedure as a truth-seeking vehicle in posthumous innocence cases. Now Raley, Scheck and Co, hope to  use it to punish prosecutorial misonduct. These are mostly uncharted legal waters  for all involved, both for the attorneys and Judge Sturns.

What a dramatic hearing that will be! Grits may have to drive up to Cowtown for that one.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/21/3752088/important-move-forward-on-holding.html#storylink=cpy