The Texas Supreme Court allows Robert Roberson to be executed

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot use subpoenas to delay a death row inmate’s execution, but suggested that the Texas House can still hear Roberson’s testimony.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday morning that lawmakers cannot delay executions by suing death row inmates, preventing a repeat of the last-minute maneuver that temporarily saved Robert Roberson and resolving the separation-of-powers issue that rocked state government last month.

The decision frees the state to seek a new execution date for Roberson, whose 2003 conviction for murdering his two-year-old daughter had been hotly contested by lawmakers and high-profile supporters. It also suggests the Legislature may still hear Roberson’s testimony before his execution, which has not yet been changed.

“The legislative investigative power, even at its maximum, is insufficient to prevent a long-planned execution under the circumstances presented here,” Judge Evan Young wrote in the court’s press release. majority opinion.

The ruling comes a month after the all-Republican court made the decision fantastic decision to temporarily halt Roberson’s execution that night, he was set to die by lethal injection so the judiciary could weigh the first judicial maneuver of its kind in which a state House committee voted unanimously to call the inmate to testify days after his scheduled execution date.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Rep. Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, had argued that the court’s denial of a valid legislative subpoena would impinge on lawmakers’ authority to subpoena testimony.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in separate notifications that legislatures had taken from them a power exclusively vested in the executive.

Paxton, moving forward, also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter. While the justices agreed that lawmakers should not be able to stop executions in the future, they repeatedly ridiculed prosecutors’ arguments in the opinion on 31 pages.

“The circularity is self-evident, and it would be a contradiction in terms for us to say that ‘we lack jurisdiction to entertain an issue because we have concluded that the issue must be resolved in favor of one of the parties,'” Young wrote. “That question — whether the committee’s position is meritorious so that the legislative branch’s constitutional authority requires the other branches to yield — is the very reason we have jurisdiction, not a reason we lack it.”

Young also described other objections Paxton made on behalf of the state prison system as “not persuasive.”

The court’s opinion affirms the power of legislatures to subpoena testimony “when its compliance does not substantially threaten the rights of the other branches.”

In a statement, Leach and Moody said the ruling affirmed the validity of their lawsuit and said they expect the executive branch to follow through on their efforts to hear testimony from Roberson.

“The Supreme Court strongly reinforced our belief that our committee can indeed obtain Mr. Roberson’s testimony and made clear that it expects the executive branch of the government to accommodate us in doing so,” Moody and Leach’s statement said. “That has been our position all along, and we look forward to working with the Executive Branch to do just that.”

In a statement Friday, state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, a member of the Criminal Justice Committee who helped lead the effort to impeach Roberson, took aim at those who criticized lawmakers who supported Roberson’s cause.

“My expectation is that we will now receive Roberson’s testimony, and it will become clear over time who was on the right side of the story and who was advocating the execution of a potentially innocent person,” Harrison wrote.

Once an Anderson County court sets a new execution date for Roberson, he will have at least three months to live, under state law that requires 90 days notice for executions.

This is a development story. Check back for updates.

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The Texas Supreme Court allows Robert Roberson to be executed

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot use subpoenas to delay a death row inmate’s execution, but suggested that the Texas House can still hear Roberson’s testimony.

Kaneb

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot use subpoenas to delay a death row inmate’s execution, but suggested that the Texas House can still hear Roberson’s testimony.

Kaneb

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