The American Bar Association Journal reports that,

An unusual court of inquiry held to probe the conduct of a former Texas district attorney has concluded with a blistering opinion by the presiding judge.

Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was briefly booked into jail Friday before being released on $7,500 bail after District Judge Louis Sturns determined that there was probable cause to support charges that Anderson had violated state law and acted in contempt of court by lying to a trial judge decades ago to win a conviction in a murder case, the American-Statesman reports.

The convicted man, Michael Morton, served nearly 25 years before he was exonerated.

“This court cannot think of a more intentionally harmful act than a prosecutor’s conscious choice to hide mitigating evidence so as to create an uneven playing field for a defendant facing a murder charge and a life sentence,” Sturns said.

His ruling represents the first step toward a potential prosecution of Anderson, who is now a sitting state court judge. Sturns issued a separate show-cause order requiring Anderson to appear in court to defend a criminal contempt citation, for which he could be sentenced to a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail if he is convicted.”