Lawyer Seeks Recusal of Judges in Wrongful Death Case

Brooks Schuelke

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The plaintiffs in a wrongful death suit have sought the recusal of Texas Supreme Court justices Dale Wainwright, Scott Brister, Wallace Jefferson, and Nathan Hecht. A Motion to Recuse is a motion asking that a judge not hear a case, usually because the judge has some involvement or bias. This lawyer's motion is based in large part on a study performed by University of Texas Law Professor David Anderson that found defendants won 87% of the personal injury cases heard by the court in 2004 and 2005. The lawyer alleges that his clients' fate should not be determined by Supreme Court justices "who have been shown to have probably determined the outcome of their case already." The lawyer further alleges, "It has been proven, without doubt, that [the Court]...is not even handed or neutral, and both a qualitative and quantitative analysis show bias."

It is doubtful that the motion will be successful, but it may get interesting here in Austin as elections roll around.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.