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VieBleu ago

Interesting bit here, from another article about this DA review and release -

"After the review hearing, the new DA was convinced the Keller’s trial had not been fair and they were released just before Christmas. She had no intention of putting them back on trial but could not justify to herself to exonerate them without evidence to prove no crime ever happened. That is virtually impossible to accomplish. Between Dr. Mouw, Jordan Smith, and Keith Hampton, who is an attorney that worked without pay for more than six years, the Kellers names have been cleared and they are free to rebuild what they can of their shattered lives.

https://conservativedailypost.com/couple-cleared-of-creepy-daycare-charges-after-25-years/

I'd like to know more about this attorney that worked without pay for 6 years - how exactly does he make a living would be one. Who does he know, and how did they find him? Who else does he represent?

this may be him - Keith Hampton, legislative director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers, also served as President of the organization in 2011. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2Y5uVpgC4LUJ:www.voiceforthedefenseonline.com/newsletters/2010/Apr10.pdf+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz

Why was it so important to Keith Hampton to whittle away at this case until he could overturn it? Is he a crusader against a "panic" from a quarter century ago? Why? Aren't there plenty of recent police brutality, shootings, immigration cases and civil rights violation cases in Texas that are more relevant to today's world? Especially since there is supposed to be nothing to all this pizzagate stuff anyway, right?

Factfinder2 ago

Here's the transcript of an interview with Mike Ware and Keith Hampton of the DA's Office talking about their backgrounds and early cases. Ware is on the board of the Innocence Project. He talks about his friend Terri Moore recruiting him from private practice to head the Conviction Integrity Unit (as you said, SO Orwellian sounding): http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/i-believe-its-a-heroic-calling/ At one point the interviewer says, "You guys have clients you can bill, right, to pay for your pro bono work?" Hampton just says "Next question" and laughs.

VieBleu ago

Here we go - from same article great find btw

http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/i-believe-its-a-heroic-calling/

"We came up with some creative ways to work this process, a private lawyer working with the Innocence Project. We do the work, the lawyer work, and they contribute the support. So when we get into a corner or something, we go to them and say, “This is where we’re at, we need some help, can we draw on some resources here?” That’s exactly what they’re doing, so we’re actually developing a model for how you do it and these will be the relationships between innocence clinics and the crazy lawyers who are going to go ahead and march into these cases."

If I am understanding this correctly - it is "The Innocence Project" that pays the lawyer bills to get these people off. Privately, so no disclosure on the payments or who they actually come from, but I'm sure they do a little fundraising and get other support which they may or may not disclose. Funds can also be hard to trace this way if used for bribes, campaign contributions to certain very friendly DAs, judges, whatever, right?

Is it possible to call yourself "pro-bono" only in the sense that the client isn't billed?

This article could be a post in itself, a couple of shady things seem to lurk... I mean "Innocence Clinics"? Now we are out of Orwell territory and on to Vonnegut. Welcome To The Monkey House indeed.

Factfinder2 ago

Well, I guess that's why Hampton laughed when the interviewer asked about his pro bono work. It's not pro bono for him. Notice he didn't explain the truth.

I found out that the Innocence Project is a national organization with state branches: https://www.innocenceproject.org/about/ They use DNA to exonerate. Most of their cases, if not all, have sexual components, although sometimes they don't list that in the conviction charge and you have to read the details of the case to see it: https://www.innocenceproject.org/all-cases/#exonerated-by-dna I'd like to see a comprehensive big-money donor's list. The Florida branch published their 2013 list, and one of the top contributors was....the U.S. Department of Justice. Yes, your tax dollars and mine.