August 20, 2021 | By McCathern Law
The Harris County Administrative Judge made the unique decision on Thursday recusing a Harris County District Court Judge from sitting on a case involving McCathern Houston Co-Managing Partner Rodney Drinnon because of her likelihood of personal bias against him.
Administrative Judge Susan Brown granted Mr. Drinnon’s request to move a case out of the 333rd District Court of Judge Brittanye Morris due to her relationship with her benefactor Mohammed Ali Choudhri a/k/a Ali Jetall. Judge Morris had been recused in a previous case involving Mr. Drinnon where he claimed that his client was the subject of her bias. But, now that concern extended to bias against Mr. Drinnon himself because of several successes he has garnered in representing clients against Mr. Choudhri over the past decade.
Mr. Drinnon has been involved in nearly a dozen pieces of litigation against Mr. Choudhri in various state and federal courts located in both Texas and Wisconsin. Having weathered death threats from Mr. Choudhri’s family and been assaulted by Mr. Choudhri, resulting in a complaint filed with the Harris County Constable’s Office, Mr. Drinnon argued that Judge Morris’s relationship with Mr. Choudhri would likely result in her bias against him. Judge Brown agreed.
The present case is unique as Mr. Drinnon believes that this is the first time that a Harris County District Court Judge has been recused due to bias against a party’s lawyer, and not the client. Mr. Drinnon offered a brief statement on the situation to Dolcefino Consulting Group on Judge Brown’s decision, which can be viewed here: