In re James Haecker, 03-26-00859-CV, November 10, 2026.
On appeal from County Court at Law, Hays County (Honorable Elaine S. Brown)
Synopsis
A court of appeals will not grant mandamus relief against a successor judge based solely on an order entered by a recused predecessor. Under In re Blevins, the appellate court may abate the mandamus proceeding so the successor judge can reconsider the challenged order and determine whether it should remain in effect, be modified, or be set aside.
Relevance to Family Law
Recusal can materially alter the procedural path of mandamus proceedings arising from divorce, conservatorship, possession, support, enforcement, contempt, sanctions, and property disputes. When the challenged ruling was signed by a judge who is later recused, counsel ordinarily must obtain a ruling from the successor judge before seeking mandamus relief directed at that judge. The successor judge’s reconsideration may preserve, revise, or eliminate the original complaint—and may change the issues and record that must be presented to the court of appeals.
Case Summary
Fact Summary
James Haecker filed a petition for writ of mandamus challenging a trial court’s sua sponte order to show cause and the related sanctions hearing set for September 16, 2026. He also filed an emergency motion under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.10. The Third Court of Appeals stayed both the show-cause order and the scheduled hearing.
Haecker’s mandamus petition disclosed that he had moved to recuse or disqualify the judge who issued the challenged order, the Honorable Elaine S. Brown. Although the relevant assignment order was not included in the mandamus record, the court of appeals took judicial notice that the Presiding Judge of the Third Administrative Judicial Region had assigned the Honorable Linda A. Rodriguez after the recusal or disqualification motion was referred under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18a.
Because the judge responsible for the challenged order was no longer presiding over the matter, the court of appeals confronted a threshold procedural issue: whether it could issue mandamus relief against the newly assigned judge for an order entered by her predecessor. Rather than deny the mandamus petition, the court elected to abate the original proceeding and permit the successor judge to reconsider the order.
Issues Decided
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Whether mandamus may issue against a successor judge based on an order entered by a predecessor who has been recused.
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Whether the mandamus proceeding should be denied or abated to permit the successor judge to reconsider the challenged order.
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Whether the successor judge may leave the challenged order in effect, modify it, or set it aside.
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Whether the successor judge’s reconsideration may include evidence beyond the evidence on which the original order was based.
Rules Applied
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Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18a. Rule 18a governs motions to recuse or disqualify and the assignment process that follows the referral of such a motion.
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Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 52.1 and 52.10. Rule 52.1 governs the commencement of an original proceeding, while Rule 52.10 authorizes temporary relief in connection with a mandamus petition.
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In re Blevins, 480 S.W.3d 542 (Tex. 2013) (orig. proceeding). When the judge who entered the challenged order is replaced after recusal, the court of appeals may deny the mandamus petition or abate the proceeding to allow the new judge to reconsider the order. The successor judge must determine whether the order should remain in effect, be modified, or be set aside. If necessary, the successor judge is not confined to the evidence considered when the original order was entered.
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In re Baylor Medical Center at Garland, 280 S.W.3d 227 (Tex. 2008) (orig. proceeding). Mandamus does not issue against a new judge for an act performed by a former judge.
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In re Gonzales, 391 S.W.3d 251 (Tex. App.—Austin 2012, orig. proceeding). The Third Court of Appeals previously recognized that mandamus will not issue against a successor judge based on the predecessor’s action.
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In re Lombana, 542 S.W.3d 699 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, orig. proceeding). An appellate court may take judicial notice of facts outside the mandamus record when necessary to determine its jurisdiction.
Application
The show-cause order challenged in the mandamus petition had been issued by Judge Brown. After the recusal or disqualification process resulted in the assignment of Judge Rodriguez, the mandamus proceeding no longer presented a ruling attributable to the judge then responsible for the case.
That change was procedurally significant because mandamus relief must generally be directed at the judicial officer who has made, or refused to make, the ruling under review. The court therefore could not simply attribute Judge Brown’s order to the newly assigned judge and grant mandamus relief against the successor.
Following Blevins, the Third Court of Appeals considered the two available options: deny the petition or abate the original proceeding. It selected abatement as the better course. The court abated the proceeding until December 18, 2026, and directed the successor judge to reconsider the matters underlying the August 28, 2026 Order to Show Cause and Notice of Sanctions Hearing.
The successor judge was instructed to render her own order determining whether the challenged order should remain in effect, be modified, or be set aside. Consistent with Blevins, the successor judge was not necessarily limited to the evidence that had been before the original judge. The resulting reconsideration order was to be filed with the court of appeals by the abatement deadline.
Holding
Mandamus would not issue against the successor judge merely because the predecessor judge had entered the challenged show-cause order. A newly assigned judge is not automatically responsible, for mandamus purposes, for a ruling made by the recused predecessor.
The proper course was to abate the mandamus proceeding so the successor judge could reconsider the challenged order. The court therefore abated the proceeding until December 18, 2026, rather than denying the petition outright.
The successor judge could determine that the original order should remain in effect, should be modified, or should be set aside. In conducting that reconsideration, the successor judge was not necessarily limited to the evidentiary record on which the predecessor’s order had been based.
Family Law Crossover
The crossover rule is procedural: when a family-law mandamus petition challenges an order signed by a judge who is subsequently recused, the successor judge must ordinarily have an opportunity to reconsider that order before mandamus relief is sought against the successor. The appellate court may abate the original proceeding for that purpose, after which the successor judge renders an independent order preserving, modifying, or vacating the predecessor’s ruling.
This mechanism can arise whenever mandamus review is sought from a temporary order or other interlocutory ruling for which an ordinary appeal is unavailable or inadequate. Examples include temporary conservatorship or possession orders, discovery orders affecting privileged material, orders compelling psychological or substance-abuse evaluations, transfer rulings, receivership orders, temporary injunctions, turnover orders, and certain enforcement or sanctions orders.
The successor judge’s ruling becomes critical to the scope of any renewed mandamus review. If the order is set aside, the controversy may become moot. If it is modified, the relator must evaluate the modified order and establish entitlement to relief based on that ruling. If it remains in effect, the successor judge’s reconsideration supplies the ruling against which mandamus may proceed.
Practical Application
Family-law counsel should treat reassignment following recusal as a potential reset of the mandamus record. Do not assume that an order entered by the former judge is automatically reviewable as an act of the successor judge. Request reconsideration promptly, obtain an express written ruling, and ensure that the mandamus record contains the documents and evidence relevant to the successor judge’s decision.
In a temporary-orders dispute, counsel should ask the successor judge to address each challenged provision specifically. For example, a reconsideration order should identify whether prior rulings concerning conservatorship, geographic restrictions, possession, child support, spousal support, exclusive use of property, payment of expenses, or interim attorney’s fees remain effective or have been modified.
In discovery disputes, reconsideration may provide an opportunity to refine an overbroad production order, add privilege protections, conduct an in camera review, or clarify deadlines. Because Blevins permits the successor judge to consider additional evidence when necessary, counsel should be prepared to supplement the record rather than relying exclusively on the material submitted to the former judge.
In enforcement, contempt, or sanctions matters, counsel should distinguish between the underlying substantive order and the later enforcement or show-cause order. Identify precisely which order was entered by the recused judge, which matters remain pending, and which rulings require independent action by the successor judge.
Counsel also should monitor the appellate abatement order closely. If the court of appeals imposes a deadline for reconsideration and filing of the successor judge’s order, secure a timely hearing and confirm that the clerk transmits the order as directed. Missing the abatement deadline can delay review and complicate requests for continued temporary relief.
Checklists
After Recusal or Reassignment
- Confirm the effective date and scope of the recusal or reassignment order.
- Identify every challenged order entered by the former judge.
- Determine whether the mandamus petition challenges only the predecessor’s ruling or also addresses later action by the successor.
- Obtain a file-stamped copy of the assignment order.
- Notify the court of appeals promptly of the change in the presiding judge.
- Evaluate whether to request abatement rather than risk denial of the mandamus petition.
- Calendar every deadline imposed by the appellate abatement order.
Presenting Reconsideration to the Successor Judge
- File a written motion identifying the precise order to be reconsidered.
- State whether each challenged provision should remain in effect, be modified, or be set aside.
- Attach the predecessor’s order and any relevant hearing transcript.
- Identify any additional evidence the successor judge should consider under Blevins.
- Preserve objections to the admission or exclusion of supplemental evidence.
- Request a hearing if factual development or clarification is necessary.
- Secure an express written ruling attributable to the successor judge.
- Ask the court to address each disputed provision separately when partial modification is possible.
Protecting the Mandamus Record
- Include the challenged order in the mandamus record.
- Include the recusal, referral, and assignment documents.
- Include the motion for reconsideration and all responses.
- Include exhibits admitted or offered during reconsideration.
- Obtain the reporter’s record from the reconsideration hearing.
- Include the successor judge’s signed order.
- Supplement the appellate record promptly after reconsideration.
- Update the mandamus petition or briefing to address the successor judge’s actual ruling.
- Reassess whether the requested mandamus relief remains live.
Preserving Temporary Appellate Protection
- Determine whether an existing appellate stay remains operative during abatement.
- If the stay’s status is unclear, request clarification from the court of appeals.
- Explain which family-law deadlines, exchanges, hearings, disclosures, or property transactions require temporary protection.
- Avoid assuming that abatement itself stays trial-court proceedings.
- Coordinate the requested stay with the specific relief sought from the successor judge.
- Notify the appellate court promptly if reconsideration eliminates or materially changes the disputed order.
Reassessing the Case After Reconsideration
- If the order is set aside, determine whether the mandamus proceeding has become moot.
- If the order is modified, analyze the modified provisions for abuse of discretion and adequacy of appellate remedy.
- If the order remains in effect, confirm that the successor judge independently adopted it.
- Revise the issues presented to match the successor judge’s ruling.
- Address any new evidence or findings considered during reconsideration.
- Confirm that the real party in interest has an opportunity to respond to any materially revised mandamus request.
Citation
In re James Haecker, No. 03-26-00859-CV, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App.—Austin Nov. 10, 2026, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
Full Opinion
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