On a recent morning in Austin, the resilient Erma Wilson, 45, dressed in her certified nursing assistant’s gear, was heading for her job, which she likes. It is not, however, the job she has aspired to for 36 years, since at age 9 she decided she wanted to become a registered nurse. That dream died because of her felony conviction in Midland, Texas, where she had an astonishing encounter with the justice system.

Speaking by Zoom, Wilson recalls that in August 2000 she and some girlfriends were hanging out in the Flats, a bars-and-restaurants concentration where young people gathered. A police officer beckoned her. When she asked why, he replied, “Just bring your ass here.” She was wrong to run but right to be wary.

Because she fled, Wilson was handcuffed, placed in the patrol car and told that crack cocaine had been found on the ground — not an unprecedented event in the Flats — near where she had been standing.

She truthfully said it was not hers; they said they would release her if she told them who the crack belonged to; she said she did not know; they charged Wilson with possession of a controlled substance. Wilson was offered various plea bargains if she would plead guilty. She refused

At her trial, the police admitted they never saw Wilson possess crack or drug paraphernalia, and that she did not appear under the influence of drugs. But the trial, in which Midland Assistant District Attorney Weldon “Ralph” Petty Jr. likely advised his fellow prosecutors included judicial rulings adverse to Wilson. She was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Petty allegedly drafted the final judgment and sentencing order.

As a first-time offender, Wilson was sentenced to eight years of probation and years of disappointment: Texas denies registered nursing licenses to people convicted of drug-related offenses.

She did not know that Petty was playing for two different teams simultaneously — for Midland’s prosecutors and for the judges, as a paid law clerk.

For nearly 20 years, the Institute for Justice says, prosecutor Petty routinely engaged in improper communications and collaborations with judges, for whom he drafted opinions and orders favoring the prosecution in more than 300 cases.

Wilson is suing Petty and Albert Schorre Jr., the district attorney who hired him and who knew Petty was advising judges.

The Wild West willingness of some Midland officials to ignore elementary judicial norms is inexplicable. Something gave them a sense of impunity. This sense began to unravel when an Internal Revenue Service auditor wondered about Petty’s financial relationships with two supposedly independent branches of Midland County’s criminal justice system.

The misbehavior was not disclosed until Petty retired in 2019.

Wilson, represented by the Institute for Justice, hopes to penetrate the shield of immunity that protects prosecutors. Violations are frequent, redress is rare.

Wilson hopes her conviction will be expunged. Then, “I am immediately signing up for (nursing) school. I am so ready.” Her experience is a timely reminder that the Supreme Court is not the only court that matters, and all courts need to be watched, carefully.