In re Valladolid

Full title: IN RE ANN NELSON PARKER VALLADOLID, Relator

Court: Court of Appeals of Texas, Seventh District, Amarillo

Date published: Aug 14, 2006

Nos. 07-06-0173-CV, 07-06-0174-CV (Tex. App. Aug. 14, 2006)

Opinion

Nos. 07-06-0173-CV, 07-06-0174-CV

August 14, 2006.

Panel A: Before REAVIS and CAMPBELL and HANCOCK, JJ.

ON MOTIONS FOR REHEARING

DON H. REAVIS, Justice.

By motions for rehearing, relator asserts this Court erred in (1) holding we had no jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against the Honorable Kelly Glen Moore; (2) holding that filing an informal letter prior to filing a formal motion waived the right to complain of a trial judge's refusal to recuse or disqualify; and (3) finding that mandamus relief was unavailable. Remaining convinced that our original disposition of the petitions for writs of mandamus were correct, the motions for rehearing are overruled with these additional comments.

Respondent Judge Moore

Relator maintains she was seeking mandamus relief against Judge Moore in his capacity as a district judge who was assigned to hear the disqualification/recusal motions. We disagree. By letter of March 31, 2006, counsel for relator directed correspondence to Judge Moore, "Ninth Administrative Judge," not in his capacity as a district judge, requesting clarification on the upcoming hearing on the motions. By fax transmittal dated April 3, 2006, on letterhead of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region, Judge Moore advised all counsel he would hear the motions by telephone conference on April 10, 2006. The reporter's record of the hearing reflects that Judge Moore stated on the record:

I'm presiding over a recusal motion in each of these cases that has been filed, and I am presiding today in my capacity as presiding judge of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region.

By fax transmittal dated April 10, 2006, also on letterhead of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region, Judge Moore advised counsel that he was denying the motions for recusal and disqualification. The record reflects the orders were signed by Judge Moore in his capacity as Presiding Judge of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region.

By her motion to reconsider of April 11, 2006, relator alleged:

Judge Kelly G. Moore, Presiding Judge of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region . . . signed his Order Denying Motion for Order of Disqualification and, Alternatively, Recusal. . . .

(Emphasis in original).

We conclude relator's contention that this Court has jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus directed to Judge Moore because she seeks the writs in his capacity as a district judge is contrary to the record.

Accordingly, the motions for rehearing are overruled.