Judge rules Charles Hood's appeal may go forward

The long-twisted saga of Charles Hood continues on in North Texas. Yesterday State District Judge Greg Brewer ruled that Hood's claim of judicial bias in his trial may be ruled on its merits. For those of y'all not familiar with the tawdry soap opera that was the Collin County Courthouse you can read my previous posts here.

Prosecutors tried to argue that the affair between then-State District Judge Verla Sue Holland and Collin County D.A. Tom O'Connell was common knowledge around the courthouse and that Hood's attorneys had to have known who was keeping whose pillow warm.

Judge Brewer disagreed:

“Judge Holland and Mr. O’Connell did not abide by their ethical and constitutional duties to disclose the fundamental conflict caused by their relationship,” Brewer said, adding that O’Connell misled Hood’s attorneys and Holland resisted their “investigative efforts.”

Brewer also said state attorneys could not argue that time deadlines for appeals were violated in Hood’s case because their hands were “unclean.”

“It is the appearance of partiality that is damaging to the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judicial process,” he said.

The Court of Appeals will now take up the matter.