Opinion
14-24-00299-CV
06-18-2024
MARY RUFFIN, Appellant v. REMY REAL ESTATE & INVESTMENT, INC., Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Galveston County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. CV-0091816
En Banc court consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Wise, Bourliot, Zimmerer, Hassan, and Poissant (Justices Jewell, Spain, and Wilson not participating).
ORDER
PER CURIAM
On May 23, 2024, appellant filed motions to disqualify and recuse Justices Jewell, Spain, and Wilson from this case.
Rule 16 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides the grounds for disqualification and recusal of appellate judges. See Tex. R. App. P. 16. None of the grounds for disqualification or recusal exist here. Appellant's motion to disqualify is denied.
As to recusal, 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).
Under the procedure set forth in rule 16.3(b), upon the filing of the motion to recuse and prior to any further proceedings in this appeal, Justices Jewell, Spain, and Wilson chose to certify the matter to the remaining members of the court en banc. The justices of this court, except for Justices Jewell, Spain, and Wilson, then deliberated and denied the motion to recuse. Accordingly, the motion to recuse is denied.
Consistent with the procedure set for the in Rule 16.3(b), those six justices further considered appellant's requests to disqualify Justices Jewell, Spain, and Wilson and agreed that the requests should be denied.