By Rajesh Mirchandani
BBC News, Los Angeles
**A judge in Texas has gone on trial accused of refusing to let lawyers for a convicted murderer on death row to lodge a last-minute appeal.**Sharon Keller is charged with professional misconduct.
The prisoner, Michael Wayne Richard, was put to death hours after she allegedly shut the court, despite being told an appeal was imminent.
Half of all executions in the US last year were in Texas and Judge Keller has earned the nickname Sharon Killer.
She is known for her tough stance on the death penalty.
Just hours before his scheduled execution in September 2007, lawyers for Richard tried to lodge an appeal with Judge Keller, the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Their efforts were delayed by computer glitches and when they phoned the court to request extra time, they say they were told court closes at 5pm.
Richard was put to death some three hours later.
Now his lawyers claim Judge Keller deliberately ordered the courthouse to close at 5pm, knowing a last-minute appeal was imminent.
Judge Keller’s lawyers say she meant that the court building closed at that time, but that there was an after-hours judge on duty who would have accepted the appeal.
State prosecutors have charged Judge Keller with five counts of professional misconduct. They say her actions cast “public discredit” on the judiciary.
If found guilty, she could lose her position on the State Appeals Court, a demotion that could end her career.