Disqualification Requires Notice and Evidentiary Hearing
The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals recently held that a respondent is entitled to notice and an evidentiary hearing before having its counsel disqualified. First, the court determined it had jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against a presiding judge of a administrative judicial district because the judge was acting in the capacity of a district judge when he heard the oral motion to disqualify. Second, the court determined that a party is entitled to notice and hearing prior to disqualification. The court stated:
While we agee that the alleged disqualifiying conflict is significant, if the disqualifyig status is proved, we disagee that one party's bare allegation of the conflict is sufficient to establish disqualification as a matter of law when the opposing party is seeking to enforce its right to an evidentiary hearing on the constitutionally protected right to counsel of the party's choosing.
The court of appeals' opinion in In Re Lopez can be found at this link.
