Texas Supreme Court justices call for beefed-up Michael Morton Act
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by a former Nueces County prosecutor who said he was fired for refusing an illegal order to hide evidence favorable to a criminal defendant.
But the ruling came with a pointed warning, and a plea for action by the Legislature, from three of the court’s nine members.
The Supreme Court was unanimous in deciding that Eric Hillman could not sue the county and the district attorney’s office because, as government agencies, they are immune from lawsuits over wrongful termination.
The court rejected Hillman’s argument that the 2013 Michael Morton Act, named for a Williamson County man who spent almost 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, waived government immunity from Hillman’s lawsuit because the act makes it a state crime to hide favorable evidence from defendants.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190315/texas-supreme-court-justices-call-for-beefed-up-michael-morton-act