Cesar De Leon, Relator v. the Honorable Luis Aguilar, Judge 120th District Court of El Paso County, Respondent

Summary

The Court held that Texas law provides an immediate mandamus remedy to enforce a defendant's right to have a biased trial judge recused, finding that Judge Aguilar's bias was established as a matter of law. Accordingly, the Court conditionally granted mandamus relief to De Leon, overruling prior case law that limited such relief when a judge could deem a recusal motion insufficient. The decision also overruled McClenan's interpretation of Rule 18a and distinguished Woodard's rule. No separate dissent or concurrence was filed.