State Rep. Jeff Leach asked Texas judge to consider a new Robert Roberson trial in apparent conduct violation

AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) -- State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, texted a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge last week that death row inmate Robert Roberson deserves a new trial, an apparent violation of Texas' disciplinary rules of professional conduct.

In an Oct. 25 letter sent to Roberson’s attorney along with Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell, Texas’ highest criminal court detailed the text correspondence between Leach and a judge, in which Leach expresses hesitation about whether he can legally correspond with the judge but ultimately decides to make a plea to save Roberson’s life.

“I’ve wracked my brain about whether I should send you this message … about where I can even send you this message legally and ethically,” wrote Leach, who is a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution. “There are too many questions and too many holes and too much uncertainty … and Robert Roberson deserves a new trial.”

Leach, who noted that he is not an active party to any matters before the court, added that only one judge on the bench needed to change their mind on Roberson’s case and allow the court to reconsider his request for a new trial. A 5-4 majority of the court rejected Roberson’s latest appeals.

“Only sending this message to you,” Leach wrote to the judge. “As my friend and as a wonderful Judge who I have so much faith in, I hope you’ll consider doing so.”

According to the letter, the judge wrote in response, “I cannot consider your message nor may I discuss any pending matters with you.”

Roberson currently has no pending matters before the Court of Criminal Appeals, which Leach pointed to in his correspondence to the high court.

“I was unaware there were any pending matters in front of the court,” Leach wrote.

According to Texas’ Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers are prohibited from attempting to influence a court about a pending matter before that court, or about matters that are “reasonably foreseeable” to be before that court. Violations of the rules could result in disciplinary action from the State Bar of Texas.

In a statement Monday evening, Leach identified the judge he was texting as Judge Michelle Slaughter and apologized to the court. Slaughter voted with the 5-4 majority of the bench to reject Roberson's latest appeals and to allow his execution to move forward.

"Unlike some other leaders in our state, I’m not afraid to admit when I mess up … and that’s exactly what I did when I sent a text message to my friend, Judge Michelle Slaughter, asking her to reconsider the case of Robert Roberson," Leach wrote on social media. "I am fiercely committed to the rule of law and to strengthening our system of justice. This is why I’m so passionate about the case of #RobertRoberson — because I believe so strongly the system has failed him. And that’s why I sent that message to Judge Slaughter."

Leach added that he believed he was "in the clear" because he is not a party to Roberson's case and was not aware of any pending disputes in the case before the court. "But, clearly, I was wrong," Leach wrote. "Judge Slaughter handled it perfectly and professionally — as any Judge should do. And I apologize to her and to the Court."

The letter marks the latest episode in a roller coaster legal battle that Leach, state lawmakers and advocates first waged to spare Roberson’s life. The Texas Supreme Court halted Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution after the bipartisan criminal jurisprudence committee subpoenaed Roberson, asking him to testify at the Capitol four days after his scheduled execution and setting off a separation of powers conflict between the state’s executive and legislative branches. Roberson’s execution is delayed pending the resolution of that issue.

The Office of the Attorney General notified the Texas Supreme Court of Leach's text messages on Monday, arguing that the development "only underscored" the state's case that the committee overstepped in its intervention.

Roberson was convicted in 2003 in the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who he said he found fallen off of the bed at the family’s home in Palestine. Nikki was given a shaken baby diagnosis, but experts and lawmakers say evidence not presented at trial invalidates that theory and proves Roberson’s innocence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has repeatedly declined to stop Roberson’s execution.

The ongoing effort to save Roberson’s life has become a political battle waged in the public eye, as more elected officials continue to weigh in on the matter. Gov. Greg Abbott broke his silence on the issue on Oct. 21 with an amicus brief in which he criticized lawmakers for exceeding their authority, noting that the power to grant clemency in a capital case lies with the governor alone. The governor has the ability to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve in death penalty cases.

Attorney General Ken Paxton also issued a graphic press release last week, insisting on Roberson’s guilt. A group of state lawmakers responded with a 16-page rebuttal, pointing out credibility issues with witnesses who offered trial testimony disparaging Roberson and refuting Paxton’s claims that Nikki had extensive bruising when she arrived at the hospital.

Members of Nikki’s family — her brother, Matthew Bowman, her aunt, Jessica Rachelle Carriere, and her grandfather, Larry Gene Bowman — sent a letter to the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that was received Monday morning saying they are convinced of Roberson’s guilt.

“We all kept an open mind and were ready to receive new information leading up to and during the trial that might have shown him to be innocent,” the family wrote. “The only thing we have ever wanted was to know what happened to Nikki, and what caused her death. After hearing countless hours of testimony that was presented, we remain convinced that Mr. Roberson is guilty and directly responsible for Nikki’s death.”

They said in the letter that they “witnessed the repeated abuse” by Roberson, and they condemned the “one-sided picture” of his case “that has been recently portrayed in the media.”

Shortly after, Roberson’s family released a statement in support of his innocence.

“No one who knew Robert well believed he was capable of harming any child,” Thomas Roberson, the death row inmate’s younger brother, said on behalf of himself, his partner, Jennifer Martin, and his brother, John Roberson. “And to this day, I am convinced that he could not have done what he was accused of doing.”

Thomas Roberson argued that people who did not know his brother were spreading false stories about him — repeating “things they cannot possibly know about.”

He described his brother as “someone who stood up for kids who were being picked on by others. I never saw him hurt or say a mean word to any child.”

And he added that Roberson fought for custody over Nikki after her mother had her children taken from her by Child Protective Services. He noted that Nikki’s maternal grandparents agreed that Roberson should take custody of her.

“People who never even knew my brother are saying things about him that are just not true. They seem to be saying these things to justify executing him,” Thomas Roberson said. “I do not understand what they are doing, but I do understand their pain.”