On Thursday, August 1, 2024, MyRGV.com reported that a request was made for the judge presiding over an election contest trial in Hidalgo County to recuse himself.
The article explained that visiting Senior Judge Jose Manuel Bañales was overseeing the trial regarding the Democratic primary runoff election for Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, Place 1. In that election, the incumbent Sonia Treviño won by only 31 votes against challenger Ramon Segovia. Segovia then contested the results.
During the trial, Judge Bañales made an oral ruling in the morning to exclude the bulk of witnesses that Treviño sought to call. He instructed Segovia’s attorneys to file a written order reflecting this decision. However, when they submitted the proposed order, it erroneously included language declaring Segovia the winner of the election. Judge Bañales signed the document before the mistake was caught.
Once notified of the error, Segovia’s legal team filed a corrected order without any mention of the winner. However, Treviño’s attorney Martin Golando saw the signed incorrect order and made an oral motion for Judge Bañales to recuse himself from the case. Golando cited the mistaken signed order as the reason the judge could no longer be impartial.
An administrative body would appoint another judge to hear arguments on whether recusal is warranted. Gilberto Hinojosa, representing Segovia, believed the recusal request was simply a delay tactic by Treviño’s side. They hoped to prevent a final decision in the case before certification deadlines.
Over the past few weeks, Hinojosa succeeded in getting 78 ballots excluded that had been cast for Treviño. With Judge Bañales’ oral ruling, Treviño would now only be able to call around a dozen rebuttal witnesses, instead of the many more her other attorney Rick Salinas wanted to call. Hinojosa felt this significantly damaged Treviño’s chances of making up the vote difference remaining.
Source: MyRGV.com
