Case Study: Johnny Merritt and the Real-Life Bernie Case

Merritt Law Founder Johnny Merritt Helped Keep the Real-Life Subject of Bernie Behind Bars

The 2011 film Bernie, a dark comedy directed by Richard Linklater, portrayed a strange legal case. Bernie Tiede, a beloved local mortician, befriended, then murdered widow Marjorie Nugent, concealing her body in a freezer for months before ultimately being caught, sentenced, and sent to prison.

What many viewers learned at the time is that the film was based on a real-life case with real-life characters. But what many more viewers don’t know is that the story was far from over when the credits rolled.

The Background: After the Credits

Almost two decades after his original sentencing, Bernie Tiede was released from prison. An attorney had successfully submitted a writ of habeas corpus after the movie placed his case squarely in the spotlight, claiming the crime was caused by emotional trauma Tiede experienced early in his lifetime.

Although the family of Marjorie Nugent was dismayed by her exaggerated negative portrayal in the movie, their frustration was alleviated by the jury sentencing Tiede to life in prison. But once Tiede was released from prison, they worried that Hollywood and celebrities would completely unwind the justice which prevailed during Tiede’s initial trial. 

It appeared to Majorie Nugent’s family, and their legal team at the time, that they were hitting a brick wall. They needed outside help—and attorney Walter Price IV felt Johnny Merritt was the man for the job.

The Challenge: An Impossible Legal Task

The challenge was monumental. After serving time for Marjorie’s murder, Bernie Tiede was released when “new psychological evidence” developed by a new attorney with newly retained “psychological experts” suggested the murder was a result of emotional abuse as a child. 

The Nugent family was devastated. Not only had they lost their grandmother, but the movie had portrayed Marjorie in an overwhelmingly negative light—and now her murderer, it seemed, would walk free.

Walter Price IV, better known as “Four Price,” was hired by Majorie’s son Roger Nugent, who wanted to see Bernie back in prison. Unfortunately, every recourse seemed unlikely to succeed. What could they do? Enter Johnny Merritt.

A Creative Legal Strategy

Four Price felt he needed a creative thinker—that’s what he told Johnny Merritt in his office when he first approached Merritt Law’s founder. The Nugent family’s legal team had considered multiple avenues for getting Bernie Tiede back in prison, but none were proving fruitful.

Johnny Merritt considered the facts of the case. Drawing from his background in politics and his ability to read people, he felt that prosecutor Danny Buck Davidson might just be the angle—and creative solution—they were looking for. Because no legal remedy exists to force a district attorney to recuse himself, a strategy was needed to do the impossible and get Danny Buck Davidon to recuse himself without any legal tool to do so.

Davidson was a prosecutor known by some to be brash and even braggadocious. Following a series of letters and phone conversations, Johnny was ultimately able to get Davidson to imply, in an offhand remark, that he’d received favors from Hollywood personnel, suggesting a bias in favor of Bernie Tiede.

Using this information, Johnny submitted an affidavit arguing for Davidson to be recused from the case. It was a carefully planned strategy to bring a fresh perspective to Bernie’s sentencing—and it worked.

The Outcome: A Second Chance at Justice

Danny Buck Davidson was asked to recuse himself by the trial judge because of Merritt’s affidavit. With Davidson out, the Texas Attorney General’s office stepped in to prosecute, and they even reached out to Johnny for help.

But Johnny made it clear: With Davidson off the case, they had everything they needed to sentence Bernie Tiede once again.

Bernie was sent back to court for a second sentencing trial, this time to determine if his original sentence still stood, given the psychological trauma evidence. After all the legal maneuvering, Bernie was once again sentenced to 99 years to life in prison—a term he continues to serve today.

Merritt Law: Fighting for Our Clients However We Can

The Bernie case wasn’t about following the standard playbook. In fact, it came down to exactly what Four Price needed from Johnny Merritt: creative thinking.

Luckily, Price came to Johnny Merritt, an attorney dedicated to doing right by his clients. Johnny saw the challenge and concluded that while things looked impossible, he could not go back to the Nugent family and tell them there was nothing he could do.

At Merritt Law, we prioritize strong relationships and communication with our clients—but that also means we have a knack for understanding people on all sides of the cases we work through. Johnny’s ability to read people and predict their actions led directly to the recusal of Danny Buck Davidson and, ultimately, getting Bernie Tiede back behind bars.

As Johnny Merritt put it, “There was no way we could achieve what we were hired to do, but we did.” 

Merritt Law doesn’t shy away from tough cases, and Johnny proved that even when it seems like the odds are stacked against you, there’s always a way to keep fighting for your client.

Where the Bernie Case Stands Today

Bernie Tiede remains in prison and has no possibility for parole until 2029. His fight in the courts has shifted from his own murder case to the conditions of Texas prisons. Aided by Richard Linklater, he’s suing the state of Texas to provide air conditioning in prisons, a sentiment Johnny wholeheartedly supports.