Mauricio Celis v. Honorable Guy Williams et al

Filing 31

ORDER VACATING JUDGMENT granting 28 Motion to Alter Judgment. The Court VACATES the Order Adopting Memorandum and Recommendation (D.E. 26), together with the Final Judgment (D.E. 27), and the undersigned STANDS RECUSED from this action.(Signed by Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos) Parties notified.(mserpa, 2)

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI DIVISION
MAURICIO CELIS,
Petitioner,
VS.
GUY WILLIAMS, et al,
Respondents.

June 27, 2016
David J. Bradley, Clerk

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§ CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:14-CV-335
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ORDER VACATING JUDGMENT

Petitioner Mauricio Celis filed this habeas corpus proceeding pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2254 on August 12, 2014. D.E. 1. At that time, the case was assigned to this
Court pursuant to standard procedures and this Court entered its first Order with respect
to the case, an Order Consolidating Cases (D.E. 3), on August 14, 2014. Pursuant to that
Order, the case was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby for pretrial proceedings, resulting in a Memorandum and Recommendation (M&R, D.E. 17),
recommending that habeas corpus relief be denied.
Petitioner then filed his Objections (D.E. 23) to the M&R on November 28, 2015,
seeking this Court’s rejection of the M&R’s conclusions. Issues related to judicial
recusal were briefed in those Objections, but no challenge to this Court’s authority to
enter a decision was posed until April 4, 2016—after this Court accepted the Magistrate
Judge’s recommendation to deny habeas corpus relief and entered final judgment
accordingly. D.E. 27, 28. In his Motion to Alter and Amend the Judgment and for
Disqualification (D.E. 28), Petitioner now seeks this Court’s retroactive recusal based on
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prior recusals in state court proceedings. Respondent has not filed a response to the postjudgment motion.
After due consideration of the totality of the circumstances, the Court GRANTS
the motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). The Court VACATES the Order Adopting
Memorandum and Recommendation (D.E. 26), together with the Final Judgment (D.E.
27), and the undersigned STANDS RECUSED from this action.
ORDERED this 27th day of June, 2016.
___________________________________
NELVA GONZALES RAMOS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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