Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2372 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R10146 KFF-F
2	2	By: Hartnett H.B. No. 2372
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the recusal or disqualification of a statutory probate
8	8	court judge and subsequent assignment of another judge.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 25.00255(g), (g-1), (i), (i-1), (i-2),
11	11	(i-3), (i-5), (k), (l), and (m), Government Code, are amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(g) A judge who recuses himself or herself:
14	14	(1) shall enter an order of recusal and:
15	15	(A) if the judge serves a statutory probate court
16	16	located in a county with only one statutory probate court, request
17	17	that the presiding judge of the statutory probate courts
18	18	[administrative judicial district] assign a judge under Section
19	19	25.002201 to hear the case; or
20	20	(B) subject to Subsection (l), if the judge
21	21	serves a statutory probate court located in a county with more than
22	22	one statutory probate court, request that the clerk who serves the
23	23	statutory probate courts in that county randomly reassign the case
24	24	to a judge of one of the other statutory probate courts located in
25	25	the county; and
26	26	(2) may not take other action in the case except for
27	27	good cause stated in the order in which the action is taken.
28	28	(g-1) A judge who disqualifies himself or herself:
29	29	(1) shall enter an order of disqualification and
30	30	request that the presiding judge of the statutory probate courts
31	31	[administrative judicial district] assign a judge under Section
32	32	25.002201 to hear the case; and
33	33	(2) may not take other action in the case.
34	34	(i) After receiving a request under Subsection (h), the
35	35	presiding judge of the statutory probate courts, subject to and
36	36	except as provided by this section, shall [immediately forward the
37	37	request to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial
38	38	district and request that the presiding judge of the administrative
39	39	judicial district] assign a judge to hear the motion for recusal or
40	40	disqualification. The presiding judge may not assign a judge of a
41	41	statutory probate court to hear a motion under this subsection if
42	42	the judge of the statutory probate court serves in the same county
43	43	as the statutory probate court judge who is the subject of the
44	44	motion. If the judge who is the subject of a motion for recusal or
45	45	disqualification serves as the presiding judge of the statutory
46	46	probate courts, the chief justice of the supreme court shall assign
47	47	a judge to hear the motion [Not later than the 15th day after the
48	48	date the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district
49	49	receives the request, the presiding judge shall:
50	50	[(1) set a hearing before himself or herself or a judge
51	51	designated by the presiding judge, except that the presiding judge
52	52	may not designate a judge of a statutory probate court in the same
53	53	county as the statutory probate court served by the judge who is the
54	54	subject of the motion;
55	55	[(2) cause notice of the hearing to be given to all
56	56	parties or their counsel to the case; and
57	57	[(3) make other orders, including orders for interim
58	58	or ancillary relief, in the pending case].
59	59	(i-1) The judge assigned to hear a motion for recusal or
60	60	disqualification under Subsection (i) shall:
61	61	(1) set a hearing;
62	62	(2) cause notice of the hearing to be given to all
63	63	parties or their counsel to the case; and
64	64	(3) make other orders, including orders for interim or
65	65	ancillary relief, in the pending case [If the presiding judge of
66	66	the administrative judicial district does not assign a judge to
67	67	hear a motion for recusal or disqualification within the time
68	68	prescribed by Subsection (i), the presiding judge of the statutory
69	69	probate courts may assign a judge to hear the motion and take other
70	70	action under that subsection].
71	71	(i-2) A judge who hears a motion for recusal or
72	72	disqualification under Subsection [(i) or] (i-1) may also hear any
73	73	amended or supplemented motion for recusal or disqualification
74	74	filed in the case.
75	75	(i-3) If a motion for recusal or disqualification is granted
76	76	after a hearing conducted as provided by Subsection [(i) or] (i-1),
77	77	the judge who heard the motion shall:
78	78	(1) if the judge subject to recusal or
79	79	disqualification serves a statutory probate court located in a
80	80	county with only one statutory probate court, enter an order of
81	81	recusal or disqualification, as appropriate, and request that the
82	82	presiding judge of the statutory probate courts [administrative
83	83	judicial district] assign a judge under Section 25.002201 to hear
84	84	the case; or
85	85	(2) subject to Subsection (l), if the judge subject to
86	86	recusal or disqualification serves a statutory probate court
87	87	located in a county with more than one statutory probate court,
88	88	enter an order of recusal or disqualification, as appropriate, and
89	89	request that the clerk who serves the statutory probate courts in
90	90	that county randomly reassign the case to a judge of one of the
91	91	other statutory probate courts located in the county.
92	92	(i-5) A judge assigned to hear a motion for recusal or
93	93	disqualification under Subsection (i) is entitled to receive the
94	94	same salary, compensation, and expenses, and to be paid in the same
95	95	manner and from the same fund, as a judge otherwise assigned under
96	96	Section 25.0022[, except that a judge assigned under Subsection (i)
97	97	shall provide the information required by Section 25.0022(l) to the
98	98	presiding judge of the administrative judicial district, who shall
99	99	immediately forward the information to the presiding judge of the
100	100	statutory probate courts].
101	101	(k) A party may file a motion for sanctions alleging that
102	102	another party in the case filed a motion for the recusal or
103	103	disqualification of a judge solely to delay the case and without
104	104	sufficient cause. The presiding judge of the statutory probate
105	105	courts [administrative judicial district] or the judge assigned to
106	106	hear the motion for recusal may approve a motion for sanctions
107	107	authorized by Rule 215.2(b), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
108	108	(l) If a clerk of a statutory probate court is unable to
109	109	reassign a case as requested under Subsection (g)(1)(B) or (i-3)(2)
110	110	because the other statutory probate court judges in the county have
111	111	been recused or disqualified or are otherwise unavailable to hear
112	112	the case, the clerk shall immediately notify the presiding judge of
113	113	the statutory probate courts [administrative judicial district]
114	114	and request that the presiding judge of the statutory probate
115	115	courts [administrative judicial district] assign a judge under
116	116	Section 25.002201 to hear the case.
117	117	(m) The clerk of a statutory probate court shall immediately
118	118	notify and provide to the presiding judge of the statutory probate
119	119	courts a copy of an order of recusal or disqualification issued with
120	120	respect to the judge of a [the] statutory probate court.
121	121	SECTION 2. Sections 25.002201(a) and (b), Government Code,
122	122	are amended to read as follows:
123	123	(a) Not later than the 15th day after the date an order of
124	124	recusal or disqualification of a statutory probate court judge is
125	125	issued in a case, the presiding judge of the statutory probate
126	126	courts, except as provided by Subsection (b), [administrative
127	127	judicial district] shall assign a statutory probate court judge or
128	128	a former or retired judge of a statutory probate court to hear the
129	129	case if:
130	130	(1) the judge of the statutory probate court recused
131	131	himself or herself under Section 25.00255(g)(1)(A);
132	132	(2) the judge of the statutory probate court
133	133	disqualified himself or herself under Section 25.00255(g-1);
134	134	(3) the order was issued under Section
135	135	25.00255(i-3)(1); or
136	136	(4) the presiding judge of the statutory probate
137	137	courts [administrative judicial district] receives notice and a
138	138	request for assignment from the clerk of the statutory probate
139	139	court under Section 25.00255(l).
140	140	(b) If the [presiding] judge who is the subject of an order
141	141	of recusal or disqualification is [of an administrative judicial
142	142	district does not assign a judge under Subsection (a) within the
143	143	time prescribed by that subsection,] the presiding judge of the
144	144	statutory probate courts, the chief justice of the supreme court
145	145	shall [may] assign a statutory probate court judge or a former or
146	146	retired judge of a statutory probate court to hear the case [instead
147	147	of the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district
148	148	making the assignment under that subsection].
149	149	SECTION 3. Section 25.00255(i-4), Government Code, is
150	150	repealed.
151	151	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
152	152	a motion for recusal or disqualification of a judge that is filed on
153	153	or after the effective date of this Act. A motion for recusal or
154	154	disqualification of a judge filed before the effective date of this
155	155	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the motion was
156	156	filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
157	157	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.