Marcus Everette Harper v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-14-00397-CV

MARCUS EVERETTE HARPER, APPELLANT V.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, ET AL, APPELLEES

On Appeal from the 251st District Court Potter County, Texas

Trial Court No. 97,305-C, Honorable Ana Estevez, Presiding

July 27, 2015

ORDER

Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL, HANCOCK and PIRTLE, JJ.

Texas Tech Health Sciences Center1 and individuals associated with the Health Sciences Center were parties to this case in the trial court. The four justices of this Court served as Adjunct Professors of Law in the Texas Tech University School of Law during the 2014-2015 academic year. That fact was disclosed to the parties to the appeal. In response to the Court’s disclosure, appellant Marcus Everette Harper timely

1 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is an institution separate from Texas Tech University but under the management and control of the University’s Board of Regents. TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 110.01 (West Supp. 2014).

filed, on July 8, 2015, a motion asking that the members of the Court recuse from the appeal. None of the appellees have responded to the Court’s disclosure, or to appellant’s motion to recuse.

Although each member of the Court is confident his association with the University’s School of Law would not influence his judgment in this appeal in any way, each justice has agreed to recuse himself voluntarily. See TEX. R. APP. P. 16.3(b). Accordingly, this appeal is referred to the Supreme Court of Texas for transfer to another court of appeals or assignment of three justices, as that Court deems appropriate.

Per Curiam