Baker v. City of Clute et al
Filing
33
OPINION on Recusal. (Signed by Judge Lynn N Hughes) Parties notified.(ghassan, 4)
SOUTHERN DISTRICT United States District Court
OF TEXAS
UNffiD STATES DISTRICT COURT
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
Darian Baker,
Plaintiff,
1Jcrsus
City of Clute, ct al.,
Defendants.
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November 16, 2016
David J. Bradley, Clerk
Civil Action H-I6-2068
Opinion on Recusal
I.
Darien Baker moves for the court to recuse itselfbecause it is biased.
2.
Baker says that the court called him stupid several times. The court said maybe
he was young once and stupid; a person can be real smart and do stupid things.
The court agreed with the district attorney's decision not to proceed against
Baker because it was not worth the damage it would have done to him. The term
"stupid" was not used to insult Baker.
3.
Baker brought his father, Edmond Baker, to court. He insisted on intruding. The
court tolerated his dominating the discussion until he became obstreperous. At
that point, he was asked to leave. When he was a spectator at the next hearing he
shouted from the gallery. He was asked to wait in the hall. Baker suggests that the
court is biased against him because it disciplined his father. He may take that as
bias, but it is an instance of the court responsibly conducting its proceedings. All
the court knows about Baker and his father is from the papers filed and their
behavior in court. There was no occasion for bias or prejudice, and Baker
articulates none.
4-
Baker should not have been surprised by the court's ruling. The rules require
Baker to have made a thorough investigation of the law and facts before suing.
The first hearing lasted two hours, and the second hearing lasted an hour and
one-half. During that time the court worked to elicit something that may have
been missing from Baker's complaint that might have been justiciable. The court
dismissed the case based on what Baker pleaded in his complaint and presented
to the court. An adverse ruling - like a dismissal - cannot be evidence of bias
because it is an integral judicial function: bias must be arbitrary and shown to
stem from an extrajudicial source. I
5.
Darien Baker's motion for recusal will be denied.
Signed on November 15,2016, at Houston, Texas.
<<:5£ Lynn ~
--~~~~,~~~~------N. Hughe
United States DistrictJudge
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28 U.S.c. § 144; United States v. Grinnell Corp., 384 u.s. 563 (1966).
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