Opinion
NO. 14-16-00727-CV
03-20-2018
HARVELLA JONES, Appellant v. JONATHAN ANDERSON, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Fort Bend County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 14-CCV-052079
ORDER
Currently pending before the court is appellant's motion seeking recusal of Justices Christopher, Brown, and Wise.
Rule 16 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure states that the grounds for recusal are the "same as those provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure." Tex. R. App. P. 16.2. Rule 18b(b) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure identifies the grounds for recusal. Tex. R. Civ. P. 18b(b); F.S. New Products, Inc. v. Strong Industries, Inc., 129 S.W.3d 594, 597 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, no pet.). It provides, among other matters that a judge shall recuse himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned or the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party. Tex. R. Civ. P. 18b(b)(1), (2).
Rule 16.3 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure prescribes the procedure to be followed for recusal of an appellate justice or judge:
Before any further proceeding in the case, the challenged justice or judge must either remove himself or herself from all participation in the case or certify the matter to the entire court, which will decide the motion by a majority of the remaining judges sitting en banc. The challenged justice or judge must not sit with the remainder of the court to consider the motion as to him or her.Tex. R. App. P. 16.3(b).
The challenged justices may not sit with the remainder of the court to consider the motion to recuse. F.S. New Products, 129 S.W.3d at 597; Williams v. Viswanathan, 65 S.W.3d 685, 687 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2001, no pet.).
Pursuant to the procedure set forth in rule 16.3(b), upon the filing of the recusal motion and prior to any further proceedings in this appeal, each of the challenged justices of this court considered the motions in chambers. Justice Christopher, Justice Brown, and Justice Wise each found no reason to recuse themselves and certified the matter to the remaining members of the court. See Tex. R. App. P. 16.3. This court then followed the accepted procedure set out in Rule 16.3(b). See Manges v. Guerra, 673 S.W.2d 180, 185 (Tex. 1984). The justices, except for Chief Justice Frost, then deliberated and decided the motion to recuse with respect to each challenged justice by a vote of the remaining participating justices. No challenged justice sat with the other members of the court when his or her challenge was considered. See Tex. R. App. P. 16.3(b).
Having considered the motion as to each challenged justice, and finding no basis for recusal, the motion to recuse is denied with respect to each challenged justice, with Chief Justice Frost not participating. The court enters the following orders:
ORDER DENYING MOTION AS TO JUSTICE CHRISTOPHER
In accordance with Rule 16.3(b), Justice Christopher certified appellant's motion to recuse her to the en banc court. This court, Justice Christopher not participating, finds no reason to recuse Justice Christopher. See Tex. R. App. P. 16.2; Tex. R. Civ. P. 18b(b). Accordingly, appellant's motion to recuse Justice Christopher is denied. Frost, C.J. and Christopher, J. not participating.
ORDER DENYING MOTION AS TO JUSTICE BROWN
In accordance with Rule 16.3(b), Justice Brown certified appellant's motion to recuse him to the en banc court. This court, Justice Brown not participating, finds no reason to recuse Justice Brown. See Tex. R. App. P. 16.2; Tex. R. Civ. P. 18b(b). Accordingly, appellant's motion to recuse Justice Brown is denied. Frost, C.J. and Brown, J. not participating.
ORDER DENYING MOTION AS TO JUSTICE WISE
In accordance with Rule 16.3(b), Justice Wise certified appellant's motion to recuse him to the en banc court. This court, Justice Wise not participating, finds no reason to recuse Justice Wise. See Tex. R. App. P. 16.2; Tex. R. Civ. P. 18b(b). Accordingly, appellant's motion to recuse Justice Wise is denied. Frost, C.J. and Wise, J. not participating.
PER CURIAM En Banc Court consists of Justices Boyce, Christopher, Jamison, Busby, Donovan, Brown, Wise, and Jewell. (Frost, C. J. not participating).