Texas Legislative Roundup - Perry signs criminal discovery bill (Michael Morton Act) into law | Texas Tribune - Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
Steve Hall
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Texas Tribune - Perry Signs Michael Morton Act
Austin American-Statesman - Perry signs Morton Act into law
AP - Gov. Perry signs Morton Act into law
Houston Chronicle - ‘Michael Morton Act’ signed into law
Dallas Morning News - Gov. Perry signs Michael Morton Act into law
DMN blog - New law aimed at preventing wrongful convictions
DMN blog -Governor's Signing Statement
TxTrib - Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
HouChron - Session apologizes for outburst; exonerees bill left pending again
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http://www.texastribune.org/2013/05/16/gov-rick-perry-signs-michael-morton-act/
May 16, 2013 | Texas Tribune
Perry Signs Michael Morton Act
By Brandi Grissom
With exoneree Michael Morton by his side, Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a measure that aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence.
"This is a major victory for integrity and fairness in our judicial system," Perry said of Senate Bill 1611, which was named for Morton, who spent 25 years in prison before being exonerated. It was the governor's first public signing ceremony of the session.
Morton was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife. He was exonerated in 2011 after DNA testing connected another man to the brutal crime. In their investigation, Morton's lawyers discovered that the prosecutor in the original case had withheld critical evidence that could have pointed to the real killer and spared Morton the quarter-century he spent behind bars.
Since his exoneration, Morton has lobbied lawmakers to pass legislation that would prevent others from suffering the same fate. Under SB 1611, prosecutors will be required to turn over evidence to defendants accused of crimes and to keep a record of the evidence they disclose. The landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland already requires prosecutors to give defendants information that is “material either to guilt or to punishment.” The Morton Act requires disclosure of evidence regardless of its materiality to guilt or punishment. It is the first significant reform to Texas discovery laws since 1965.
Perry said it was fitting that his signing of the Michael Morton Act fell almost exactly 50 years after the Supreme Court issued the Brady ruling.
"We are known as a law and order state, and as such we've never been easy on those convicted of a crime in our state," Perry said. "With that tradition, however, comes a very powerful responsibility to make sure our judicial process is transparent and is as open as humanly possible."
State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who co-authored the bill with state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, said the bill's passage represented "an important milestone in the journey toward justice in Texas." Duncan said the legislation would help preserve liberty in the state.
After signing the bill, Perry handed Morton the pen he used to do it, and state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, presented Morton with the gavel used to mark the passage of the bill in the House.
Asked whether he would support legislation to create an innocence commission to investigate wrongful convictions like Morton's, Perry deferred, but said that he was open to proposals that would "make Texas a better place to live." He said the Legislature meets every two years and considers the need for changes to the criminal justice system.
"The process is always open from that standpoint," Perry said, adding, "The process I think works well for us."
The Texas Defender Service, which represents death row inmates, hailed Perry's signing of the legislation, calling it historic.
“This is a great day for fairness in Texas,” Kathryn Kase, the group's executive director, said in a press release. “The Michael Morton Act will reduce wrongful convictions; it is something we can all be very proud of.”
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Thursday, May 16, 2013 @ 3:52 p.m. | Austin American-Statesman
Perry signs Morton Act into law
By Chuck Lindell | American-Statesman Staff
Gov. Rick Perry signed the Michael Morton Act into law Thursday, praising the bipartisan legislation — passed unanimously in both houses — for “making our system more fair and helping prevent wrongful convictions.”
“We are known as a law and order state. As such, we have never been easy on those who have been convicted of a crime,” Perry said as cameras clicked and Morton and key legislators stood in a row behind him.
“With that tradition, however, comes a very powerful responsibility to make sure our judicial process is transparent and it’s as open as humanly possible,” Perry said. “This is a major victory for integrity and fairness in our judicial system.”
The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2014, will require Texas prosecutors to create an “open file” policy for sharing certain documents and information with defense lawyers before trial.
Had the act been in place before his 1987 trial, Morton believes he would not have been convicted for the murder of his wife, Christine. A court of inquiry recently found that Morton’s prosecutor, Ken Anderson, intentionally hid evidence that could have helped Morton’s defense.
Perry, who chose the Morton Act to be the first publicly signed bill of the session, said it was fitting that the Capitol signing ceremony took place almost 50 years to the day since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Brady v. Maryland, a landmark ruling that required prosecutors to provide defendants with favorable evidence before trial.
Morton, wearing jeans with a coat and tie and accompanied by his new wife, Cynthia, did not speak.
Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, were the primary authors of the bill and worked through a series of compromises during several weeks of intense — and at times apparently futile — negotiations.
Reps. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, moved the bill rapidly through the House, ensuring that the delicate compromise forged in the Senate was not undone by late changes or amendments.
Perry used four pens to sign the bill into law, then presented them to Morton, Ellis, Duncan and Thompson.
At the end of the ceremony, Thompson presented Morton with the gavel used to mark House passage of his namesake legislation.
The Michael Morton Act:
• Ensures that defendants can view, and electronically copy, all police offense reports and witness statements in prosecution files.
• Protects witnesses and victims by requiring defense lawyers to redact identifying information, such as addresses and phone numbers, from documents shared with defendants and potential witnesses.
• Allows defense lawyers to share prosecution information with the defendant, investigators, experts and consulting lawyers, but all others must be approved by the trial judge.
• Requires prosecutors to list the evidence provided to defense lawyers, creating a record for potential appeals or future legal disputes.
• Requires prosecutors to promptly disclose favorable evidence uncovered during and after trial.
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http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/291980/gov--perry-signs-morton-act-into-law
May 16, 2013 | via YNN Austin - Time Warner Cable News
Gov. Perry signs Morton Act into law
The Associated Press
Gov. Rick Perry signed into law Thursday afternoon the so-called Michael Morton Act, a proposal aimed at limiting future wrongful convictions.
The law compels prosecutors to share case files with defense attorneys that can help defendants' cases.
It is named in honor of Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his wife. The district attorney in his case, now a Texas judge, is facing charges he deliberately withheld evidence from Morton's defense.
The proposal sailed through the Senate and House and has been applauded by the governor.
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http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2013/05/michael-morton-act-signed-into-law/
Thursday, May 16, 2013 | Houston Chronicle
‘Michael Morton Act’ signed into law
by Eva Ruth Moravec
Exoneree Michael Morton grinned from ear to ear as he watched Gov. Rick Perry ceremoniously sign into law a bill that bore Morton’s name, meant to reduce wrongful convictions, on Thursday.
Gov. Rick Perry, flanked by legislators and exoneree Michael Morton, signs into law Senate Bill 1611, named after Morton. Photo by Eva Ruth Moravec
“This is a huge victory for integrity and fairness in our judicial system,” said Perry, who then gave the pen he used to sign Senate Bill 1611 to Morton. Morton, wearing blue jeans and a navy jacket, kissed the pen and gave the crowd a “thumbs-up”.
The bill, written by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, requires prosecutors to give lawyers representing the accused any evidence that is relevant to the defense’s case. The intent of the bill, Ellis has said, is to ensure that key facts that could affect the trial aren’t hidden.
Morton was wrongly convicted in Williamson County for the slaying of his wife, Christine Morton, who was beaten to death in 1986. Morton’s case was taken up by the Innocence Project in New York, and he was cleared by DNA testing. He was formally acquitted in 2011.
Ellis said the case’s widespread media attention, and proximity to Austin, may have helped it get passed during this legislative session.
“The trial put the issue of discovery front and center for months,” he said. “It put such a bright spotlight on the need for discovery reform.”
Ken Anderson, then-Williamson County District Attorney, is accused of deliberately withholding evidence from the defense that indicated Morton’s innocence. As the bill passed the Texas House on May 14, Morton was present and was recognized by lawmakers.
The bill is one of several Ellis has authored or sponsored to aid exonerees. House Bill 166, which would create a commission to review future exonerations, has passed the Texas House, but is awaiting a vote in a senate committee. In Texas, 117 people have been exonerated of crimes they didn’t commit, causing the state to lead the nation in exonerations.
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http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/gov-perry-signs-michael-morton-act-into-law.html/
May 16, 2013 | Dallas Morning News
Gov. Perry signs Michael Morton Act into law
By Claire Cardona
Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed the Michael Morton Act into law with Morton and the senators and representatives who made it possible at his side.
Morton didn’t speak to the press, just smiled while Perry put ink to paper and kissed the pen after Perry was finished.
Authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, the act creates a uniform open-file policy that requires prosecutors to hand over all exculpatory evidence such at witness testimony or offense reports.
“Texas is a law-and-order state, and with that tradition comes a responsibility to make our judicial process as transparent and open as possible,” Perry said. “The bill helps serve that cause, making our system more fair and helping prevent wrongful convictions and any penalties harsher than what is warranted by the facts.”
Morton was exonerated in 2011 on DNA evidence after almost 25 years behind bars for the 1986 murder of then-wife Christine Morton. Among evidence withheld was a record of Morton’s son saying his father wasn’t the “monster” who murdered his mother. Prosecutors never made the interview available and Morton’s exoneration sparked investigation of Ken Anderson, the Williamson County prosecutor involved in the case.
“The road to justice … is not a jet plane ride, it’s a journey, and this bill is an important step on that journey,” Ellis said.
It is fitting, Perry said, that the signing come almost 50 years to the day of the Brady vs. Maryland decision that defines what evidence prosecutors must share in a criminal case.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson presented Morton with the gavel that banged his bill out of the House and to the governor’s desk. Even in the crowd behind him was Sen. Joan Huffman who on Tuesday said there was no need for a panel to study wrongful convictions.
“It would be so easy to waste the rest of your life being bitter over the part of your life that’s lost,” said Rep. Tryon D. Lewis, chair of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee that sent the Senate bill to the House floor for a final vote. “It’s been quite the opposite.”
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http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/new-law-aimed-at-preventing-wrongful-convictions.html/
May 16, 2013 | Dallas Morning News Crime blog
New law aimed at preventing wrongful convictions
By Ed Timms
A bill aimed at preventing wrongful convictions in Texas has been signed by Gov. Rick Perry.
Senate Bill 1611, the Michael Morton Act, makes it easier for defendants to get access to evidence — except for items that might affect the security of a victim or a witness — and allows broader discovery for their attorneys.
The bill becomes law on Sept. 1.
Perry was joined for the signing by State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston; Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock; State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston; Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa; and Michael Morton, the bill’s namesake.
Morton spent more than two decades in prison for murdering his wife. He was released in 2011 after DNA evidence cleared him.
“Texas is a law-and-order state, and with that tradition comes a responsibility to make our judicial process as transparent and open as possible,” Perry said in a statement. “Senate Bill 1611 helps serve that cause, making our system fairer and helping prevent wrongful convictions and penalties harsher than what is warranted by the facts.”
Sen. Ellis said the legislation will “help safeguard the innocent, convict only the guilty, and provide justice the people of Texas can have faith in.”
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http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/michael-morton-act-signed-into-law.html/
May 16, 2013 | Dallas Morning News Opinion blog
Michael Morton Act signed into law
By Rodger Jones
Picture worth 1,000 words:
Gov. Rick Perry signed SB 1611, the Michael Morton Act, into law on May 16, 2013. Morton is second from right, next to Sen. Royce West of Dallas. (AP Photo/Statesman.com, Ricardo Brazziell)
Statement from governor’s office:
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today signed Senate Bill 1611, the Michael Morton Act, which will help prevent wrongful convictions in Texas. The governor was joined by Sens. Rodney Ellis and Robert Duncan, Reps. Senfronia Thompson and Tryon Lewis, and Michael Morton for the bill signing.
“Texas is a law-and-order state, and with that tradition comes a responsibility to make our judicial process as transparent and open as possible,” Gov. Perry said. “Senate Bill 1611 helps serve that cause, making our system fairer and helping prevent wrongful convictions and penalties harsher than what is warranted by the facts.”
The Michael Morton Act will allow Texas’ criminal justice system to be more responsive to a case, even after it has been tried, by ensuring a more open discovery process. The bill’s open file policy allows for broader discovery, and removes barriers for accessing any evidence, except for items that would affect the security of a victim or witness.
“Discovery reform is simply vital to the reliability and quality of our justice system,” Sen. Ellis said. “The Michael Morton Act will help safeguard the innocent, convict only the guilty, and provide justice the people of Texas can have faith in.”
“I have long been an advocate for an efficient, effective and uniform court system across Texas. This legislation is a giant step forward in reaching that goal,” Sen. Duncan said. “I am proud that stakeholders from across the state were able to come together and set aside their differences to improve our criminal justice system.”
“The Michael Morton Act is an incredibly important step in creating a more just Texas criminal justice system,” Rep. Thompson said. “It will improve the reliability of criminal convictions and ensure that we have a quality justice system where all relevant evidence and facts are brought to light, and allow for more efficient resolutions to criminal proceedings.”
Coverage on the Trail Blazers blog said the ceremony was attended by Sen. Joan Huffman, who caused a furor Tuesday with her comments about justice reforms.
The nerve.
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http://www.texastribune.org/2013/05/16/innocence-commission-bill-trouble-after-advocates-/
May 16, 2013 | Texas Tribune
Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
by Brandi Grissom
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with comments from Cory Session and the Innocence Project of Texas.
Legislation that would create a commission to review wrongful convictions in Texas is in peril after an advocate for the bill — the brother of an exoneree who died while wrongfully imprisoned — lambasted a state senator who opposes it during a committee hearing this week.
"I don't have my votes in committee," state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said Thursday. He is the Senate sponsor of House Bill 166, which would establish an innocence commission in Texas. "I had them, but I don't have them now."
During a Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing on Tuesday, Cory Session, the brother of Tim Cole, who was posthumously exonerated of rape charges, shouted at state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Southside Place, after she voiced opposition to HB 166.
Under the bill, which is pending in committee, the commission's governor-appointed members would investigate wrongful convictions, identify why they occur and examine appeals filed with the state’s courts for evidence of ethical violations by attorneys and judges.
Session, who works with the Innocence Project of Texas, accused Huffman, a former prosecutor and criminal court judge, of standing in the way of reforms to prevent wrongful convictions. "The attitude you have is deplorable," he said to Huffman during the hearing. "I am sickened. ... I am pissed off."
After shouting at Huffman that she should "get another job," Session stormed out of the room, muttering “bitch” before slamming a door behind him.
Huffman said Thursday that Session's outburst was unprofessional and disrespectful, but she said she hadn't urged the other six members of the committee to vote against the bill in her defense.
"I thought it was just inappropriate behavior from a person in that position," Huffman said, adding that the incident hadn't changed her opinion that the bill is unnecessary. Huffman has said that legislators have already accomplished much of what is needed to review wrongful convictions through other legislation that has already passed.
State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he had always been a "no" on the bill, but he declined to say why. He said that Huffman didn't recruit him to vote against the measure.
Ellis said he would continue working to get support for the bill.
In an interview Thursday, Session said he had no plans to apologize for his comments to Huffman. He described her as a "queen bee" in the Senate, who other Republican legislators look to when deciding how to vote on criminal justice issues.
"Criminal justice legislation should not be run through Joan Huffman to see if she wants to put her stinger in it to kill it or not," Session said.
While he regretted that his muttering of an expletive was reported, Session said he stood by what he said during the committee hearing.
"I'm looking for 21 members of the Senate who have backbones. Apparently they can't stand up, in my opinion, because they don’t have a backbone when it comes to criminal justice," he said.
He also said that the measure did not have enough support to pass out of committee before he testified on Tuesday, so his comments didn't affect the bill's status.
Jeff Blackburn, general counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, said that Session's anger over some legislators' refusal to examine errors in the justice system was justified and that it didn't setback the bill, which has failed in past legislative sessions.
"It's pretty clear that Cory was out of line in the way he said what he said," Blackburn said. "On other hand, sometimes I think we need to go a little out of line and understand that not every issue is some dry, cerebral discussion. Some of them involve people's lives. This guy lost his brother."
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 | Houston Chronicle
Session apologizes for outburst; exonerees bill left pending again
by Eva Ruth Moravec
The brother of Timothy Cole, a man who died while incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, said he regrets an outburst during a hearing in which he called a senator a “bitch,” but says the senator’s actions were “deplorable.”
The emotional testimony took place Tuesday during the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice meeting, in which House Bill 166 was discussed. Authored by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, the bill would establish a nine-member commission that would evaluate future exoneration cases.
But while Sen. Joan Huffman, a republican from Houston, was laying out the bill, she apparently ruffled the feathers of Cory Session, who works with the Innocence Project of Texas to push for changes in the law regarding people who are wrongfully convicted of crimes. Huffman is the vice chair of the committee and was presiding over the hearing while the chair, Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, was conferencing. As she’s said before, Huffman told hearing attendees that “I strongly oppose creating yet another commission to second-guess, once again, what has been done.” She also listed about 25 laws that have changed since 2001 to help exonerees, many of which involve compensation.
“You might as well disband this committee,” said Session, who testified first. “That’s your job to figure out what went wrong in this state. It’s your job. You don’t like it? Find another. I’m sorry. I’m just pissed off.”
Session then muttered, “bitch,” before storming out of the hearing. Late Tuesday, though, he said he was sorry. “The way it came across was emotional, and I apologize for that. but when it comes to my brother…damn it, he didn’t get one dime of it,” he said. “She’s out of touch.”
Cole was wrongfully convicted of rape, spent 13 years in prison and died while still incarcerated in 1999. Even before his brother’s death, Session began to advocate for those who are wrongfully convicted. Cole was exonerated posthumously in 2009.
Several exonerees also gave testimony, and the item was left pending in committee because a quorum wasn’t present – Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he left the meeting because “I had something else to do.” On Wednesday, committee members met at Whitmire’s desk to take up the pending items, but again didn’t vote on HB 166, this time because there weren’t enough votes.
After the hearing, McClendon called Session to “apologize on behalf of the legislature for the pain that he’s feeling,” she said.
“I called him, because I know he’s hurting,” McClendon said. “I’m trying to get some resolution for the pain that the exonerees’ families are feeling. Huffman is doing what she thinks is right. I disagree with her, but I can’t say that she’s wrong in having her own opinion. I strongly disagree with her, and I think they both ought to apologize to each other.”
Session also brought up in his testimony the case of Josiah Sutton, who was wrongfully convicted in 1999 of rape. The conviction was later overturned after he spent 4.5 years in prison, and Huffman recommended to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles that the charge be dismissed.
“You put a man in jail, but you made it right. We’re trying to make it right for other people,” Session said.
When asked about her exchange with Session on Wednesday, Huffman said, “I thought his response was unfortunate, but he stated what he wanted to say and we move forward from there.”
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Steve Hall
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