In an unusual move, some judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sought the appointment of counsel to assist them and court staff in responding to discovery requests for CCA Presiding Judge Sharon Keller’s August hearing on misconduct allegations.
CCA general counsel Sian Schilhab wrote in an April 28 letter to Judge David Berchelmann Jr., special master for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s formal proceedings against Keller, that some of the judges who received subpoenas requesting production of certain documents “have expressed concerns about the materials requested, including the possibility that confidential information is being requested.” In the letter, Schilhab requested on the judges’ behalf that Berchelmann appoint or authorize the retention of outside counsel at the expense of the judicial conduct commission or at the CCA’s expense for the individual judges requesting assistance, the CCA’s clerk and any other court employees subject to the subpoenas. The letter does not identify the judges making the request.
