Judge Keller & TEC Cut a Deal on Record Fine

Sharon Keller, the state's top criminal court judge, has reached a deal to substantially reduce a record $100,000 fine levied by the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to fully disclose millions of dollars of real estate and income in financial statements. Under the settlement, released Friday, Keller will pay $25,000 to resolve repeated violations of the section of state law that governs personal financial disclosures for elected officials.

Keller's financial form omissions first were reported by The Dallas Morning News in March 2009. Texans for Public Justice then filed the ethics complaints with the commission that led to the original $100,000 fine.

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle.
Read TPJ's original complaint against Keller.

Editorials: Keller Fine Appropriate

Several major daily newspapers have weighed-in with editorials supporting the $100,000 ethics fine assessed against Texas Court of Criminal Appeals presiding judge Sharon Keller.

DMN editorial: Stiff But Fair Fine.
FWST editorial: Keller ignores due diligence.
San Antonio Express News editorial: Ethics panel at last shows teeth.

Judge Keller Slapped with $100,000 Ethics Fine on TPJ Complaint

Texas regulators assessed a $100,000 civil penalty against Texas Criminal Court Presiding Judge Sharon Keller on April 28 for failing to disclose nearly $3 million in real estate, as well as $183,000 in income from 17 different sources. The fine against Texas’ top criminal judge was the largest ever levied by the Texas Ethics Commission. Judge’s Keller’s disclosure lapses occurred in legally required personal financial statements that she filed with the Ethics Commission in 2007 and 2008. State law requires public officials to make the disclosures as a disinfectant against potential conflicts of interest. Texans for Public Justice filed the Keller complaint with the Commission in March, 2009.

TPJ's March 2009 complaint can be found here.