NO. 2002-42081

COMMISSION FOR LAWYER                 §          IN THE DISTRICT COURT
DISCIPLINE                                                 §
                                                                        §
V.                                                                    §          HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
                                                                        §
JOHN WORLDPEACE                                §          269TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

 MOTION TO RECUSE

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT

             COMES NOW, John WorldPeace, Defendant in the above styled and numbered cause, and files this MOTION TO RECUSE and would show the Court the following:

QUESTION REGARDING JURISDICTION TO HEAR RECUSAL

            WorldPeace is not sure from looking at the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure whether this recusal needs to go the Administrative Judge in the region including Harris County or whether it needs to go to the Supreme Court of Texas per the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure Rule 3.02.  Rule 3.02 does not speak to a motion for recusal due to facts discovered sixty days after Respondent is served with notice of the trial judge appointment by the Supreme Court. 

WorldPeace believes that in the event that the judge determines not to recuse himself, this matter will need to be sent by the Harris County Clerk to the Supreme Court of Texas and a judge must be appointed by the Supreme Court to hear WorldPeace’s Motion to Recuse James R. Fry.

INCORPORTION OF LETTERS FROM WORLDPEACE TO JUDGE FRY

INTO THIS MOTION FOR RECUSAL

WorldPeace would show the court that he sent two letters to Judge Fry on August 29, 2003, and those letters are incorporated into this pleading as Exhibit “A” and Exhibit “B”.

CORE ALLEGATIONS THAT JAMES R. FRY IS

BIASED AND PREDISPOSED IN THIS LAWSUIT

The three main reasons that WorldPeace believes that Judge Fry is biased and predisposed in this matter are as follows.

1)  Judge Fry is a Democrat and WorldPeace ran for governor in the 2002 Democratic Primary and conducted a vicious campaign stating that the Democratic Primary was racially focused and biased against WorldPeace who is White.  WorldPeace has a web page regarding the Democratic Party’s tactics in the governor’s race which is still posted to the internet at www.johnworldpeace.com. 

WorldPeace’s predictions that the corruption in the Democratic Party was going to destroy the Democratic Party in Texas came true.  WorldPeace believes that Judge Fry found WorldPeace’s web page objectionable and particularly did not like the fact that WorldPeace, after the Democratic Primary, changed parties and is now running as a Republican for Mayor of Houston.

2)  WorldPeace would show the court that he used to be a member of the Masonic Lodge but withdrew his membership in 1988 after changing his name to John WorldPeace.  WorldPeace would show the court that Judge Fry is a Mason and viewed WorldPeace’s withdrawal from Masonary as an personal affront.

3) WorldPeace would show that after the most recent Judgment for Disbarment (August 27, 2003) was signed, WorldPeace discovered that Judge Fry had received an accolade from the Texas Legislature.  That accolade stated that Judge Fry was an elder of the Presbyterian Church.  WorldPeace has been prosecuting two lawsuits against the Presbyterian Church regarding the corruption within that organization and WorldPeace alleges that Judge Fry took a personal affront at WorldPeace’s attack on his religious denomination.

SUMMARY

WorldPeace would show the court that WorldPeace has rejected Judge Fry’s political party, his Masonic affiliation and his religious denomination and that WorldPeace’s attacks upon the Democratic Party and the Presbyterian Church have been vicious as evidenced by WorldPeace’s web pages.

Below, WorldPeace would show the court that many of the rulings that Judge Fry has made in the underlying lawsuit are a blantant abuse of discretion and only make sense when considered in light of the above facts.

WorldPeace prays Judge Fry to recuse himself and if he refuses WorldPeace prays the Supreme Court to recuse Judge Fry from sitting in this lawsuit.

UNDENIABLE LIES BY JUDGE FRY WHICH ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE AUGUST 27, 2003, JUDGMENT FOR DISBARMENT AGAINST WORLDPEACE

 1) In the most recent Judgment for Disbarment, Judge Fry stated that he severed WorldPeace’s mandatory counterclaims against John Lang and Phillip Appodaca upon a motion from the Commission.  The truth is that these counterclaims were severed after the Judge denied Lang’s Motion to Dismiss and sua sponte severed the mandatory counterclaims.  (Exhibit “C”)

2) Judge Fry indicates in the Judgment for Disbarment that in pre trial he had ruled that there would be separate trials on WorldPeace’s counterclaims.  The attached transcription of that pretrial ruling shows that the court severed the causes of action.  (Exhibit “C”)  There was never an indication that there would be separate trials.

The determination to severe WorldPeace’s mandatory counterclaims came in pretrial after the Commission withdrew its Motion for Severance of WorldPeace’s counterclaims and then reasserted its Motion. 

Further, during the course of the trial on the Rule Violations, WorldPeace created a Bill of Exception having to do with his mandatory Constitutional counterclaim regarding religious discrimination by the Commission.  There would have been no reason for that Bill of Exception if the court had in fact determined to have separate trials.  The Judge did not stop WorldPeace from creating his Bill of Exception by reminding WorldPeace that there would be separate as opposed to a severed trial.

3) In addition, Judge Fry knew that WorldPeace had added two supplemental petitions to the lawsuit after the Judge vacated his April 23, 2003, Judgment for Disbarment; said supplements were dated August 5, 2003 (Adding a Delcaratory Judgment) and August 13, 2003 (Adding  a Collin’s counterclaim), more than seven days prior to the Judge’s Judgment for Disbarment on August 27, 2003.

Judge Fry added a “Mother Hubbard” clause to his August 27, 2003, Judgment for Disbarment for the purpose of wiping out WorldPeace’s supplemental causes of action.

4)  Judge Fry entered an order in which he found Disbarment for each rule violation which is contrary to his ruling at trial when he disbarred WorldPeace for having 23 cumulative violations.

FACTS THAT INDICATE THAT JUDGE FRY IS BIASED AND PREDISPOSED AGAINST WORLDPEACE IN THIS LAWSUIT

            1)  WorldPeace would show the court that in the beginning of the underlying lawsuit, WorldPeace objected to the jurisdiction of the court under Rule 3.01 TRDP.  The Commission outside of Rule 3.01 added five additional grievances to the original lawsuit regarding Johnell Collins. 

In pre-trial, Mr. Molleston, attorney for the Commission, stated to the judge after being queried, that the Commission has violated Rule 3.01 and added additional grievances to other lawsuits. 

WorldPeace filed a motion with the court to require Mr. Molleston to produce any cases that he had regarding adding on additional grievances after a lawsuit had already been filed.  Molleston refused to produce any cases and Judge Fry refused to compel Molleston to produce any cases because WorldPeace alleges the judge knows no such cases exist.

            2)  WorldPeace would show the court that at the end of trial in the underlying case, the court entered a Judgment for Disbarment.  The court, during pre-trial, severed the lawsuit into multiple lawsuits outside the local rules in Harris County in that the judge did not sign an order renumbering the severed parts.  In pretrial, the court granted the Commission’s Motion to Sever the case, in particular the constitutional issues.  The court also severed WorldPeace’s mandatory counterclaims regarding John Lang and Philip Apodaca.  At pre-trial, the judge said that it was only going to try the rule violations and that is what he did. (Ex “C”)  No order reflecting the pretrial rulings was signed prior to trial.

After trial, the judge entered his Judgment of Disbarment which contained a mother hubbard clause which stated that “all relief not expressly granted is hereby denied”. 

Had WorldPeace not filed a Motion to Modify, then all of his counterclaims and so forth that had been severed would have been dismissed by the first Judgment for Disbarment.

            3)  WorldPeace filed a Motion to Modify and a Motion for New Trial which was granted on June 23, 2003, when the judge signed an order setting aside the April 23, 2003, Judgment for Disbarment. 

After the first Judgment for Disbarment was set aside, WorldPeace filed an additional cause of action against Johnell Collins as a mandatory counter claim and also filed an additional cause of action for a declaratory judgment, declaring the State Bar of Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure to be unconstitutional.

            WorldPeace would show the court that Judge Fry came into Harris County on August 27, 2003, unannounced, and signed a second Judgment for Disbarment and for the first time an order for severance of the John Lang and Philip Apodaca mandatory counter claims.  The court did not, in either of the orders that it signed, speak to the issue of the Collins’ counter claim filed by WorldPeace nor did the court speak to the issue of WorldPeace’s additional cause of action for a declaratory judgment.  Therefore, the judge has still not entered a final order in this case because all of the parties and causes of action have not been disposed of.  The Judgment for Disbarment of August 27, 2003, is therefore interlocutory.

            4)  WorldPeace would show the court that it has been over a year since the State Bar of Texas filed suit against WorldPeace.  Per Rule 3.07 of the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure it is way beyond the 180 day limit mandated to try the lawsuit.  No further trials have been set in this matter.  There is not a final judgment per Rule 3.01 TRCP concerning all issues and it has been six months beyond the deadline that the court has to try the case.

            5)  The judge knows, per the post judgment motions filed by WorldPeace, that it is an abuse of discretion to sever mandatory counter claims in a civil lawsuit.  The judge knows that he did just exactly that.  The judge knows that the matter must be retried.  The judge has determined that he is not going to retry the case but instead intends to disbar WorldPeace arbitrarily.

            6)  Judge Fry signed a Judgment for Disbarment on April 23, 2003, and set it aside on June 23, 2003.  Judge Fry then waited until August 27, 2003, to sneak into the county unannounced and sign his second Judgment for Disbarment.  It is interesting that Judge Fry would wait until two days after WorldPeace officially filed to run for Mayor of Houston as a Republican to sign a Judgment for Disbarment. 

PRAYER

            WHEREFORE PREMISES CONSIDERED, WorldPeace prays the Supreme Court to recuse Judge Fry from this matter and for such other and further relief at law or in equity as this court deems proper.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        __________________________________

                                                                        John WorldPeace

                                                                        TBA No. 21872800

                                                                        2620 Fountain View, Suite 106

                                                                        Houston, Texas   77057

                                                                        Tel:  713-784-7618

                                                                        Fax:  713-784-9063

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

             I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing pleading was forwarded to opposing counsel, Judge Fry and the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas on October 6, 2003 by fax.

                                                                        _________________________________                                                                       John WorldPeace

NO. 2002-42081

COMMISSION FOR LAWYER                 §          IN THE DISTRICT COURT
DISCIPLINE                                                 §
                                                                        §
V.                                                                    §          HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
                                                                        §
JOHN WORLDPEACE                                §          269TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

AFFIDAVIT OF JOHN WORLDPEACE

STATE OF TEXAS               §

COUNTY OF HARRIS        § 

            BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared John WorldPeace, who being by me first duly sworn, on his oath did depose and state as follows:

             “My name is John WorldPeace.  I am over the age of eighteen years, have never been convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, and am competent to make this affidavit.  I am duly authorized and qualified to make this affidavit.  I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein, and they are true and correct.

             I have read the foregoing Motion to Recuse and swear that the facts contained therein are true and are further verified  by the trial record.

             I cannot get a fair trial before Judge Fry due to his being a Democrat, a Mason, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Further affiant sayeth not.”

                                                                 ___________________________________                                                                           John WorldPeace

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME on this _____day of ___________, 2003.

                                                                                   ____________________________________

                                                                                   NOTARY PUBLIC IN AND FOR THE                                                                                    STATE OF TEXAS

NO. 2002-42081

COMMISSION FOR LAWYER                 §          IN THE DISTRICT COURT
DISCIPLINE                                                 §
                                                                        §
V.                                                                    §          HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
                                                                        §
JOHN WORLDPEACE                                §          269TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

ORDER

    On this date, the court considered Defendant’s MOTION TO RECUSAL UNDER RULE 18B(2)(A) TCPRC.  After considering the motion, the Court, GRANTS the motion.

 SIGNED on ________________

                                                                                   _____________________________
                                                                                  Presiding Judge

EXHIBIT "A" 

John WorldPeace
Attorney at Law
2620 Fountain View, Suite 106
Houston, Texas 77057
Tel. 713-784-7618 Fax. 713-784-9063
email: johnworldpeace@aol.com

August 29, 2003

The Honorable James R. Fry
15^th Judicial District Court
200 S. Crockett St.
Sherman, Texas 75090 via fax at: 903-813-4304

Re: Cause No.: 2002-42081; Commission for Lawyer Discipline vs. John WorldPeace; In the 269^th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas

-- RECUSAL --

To the Honorable Judge Fry,

1) It is always difficult to write a letter like this but I have little choice. For the following reasons I am asking you to vacate whatever orders you signed on August 27, 2003, and to recuse yourself from this lawsuit.

2) I have been concerned about some of your rulings, particularly the fact that you have no jurisdiction under Rule 3.01 TRDP to have tried the five grievances added on by the State Bar ten weeks after suit was filed. (I do not know if you signed an order on Wednesday requiring Mr. Molleston to produce the lawsuits where he claimed in pre-trial that the State Bar had violated Rule 3.01 TRDP on prior occasions or not.) I am also concerned about your trying of the Collins matter that was barred by res judicata. However, I did not give it recusal consideration at the time because bad rulings are just part of litigation.

3) I did not give a lot of consideration to the fact that you are a Democrat and that as a Democratic candidate for governor in 2002, I created a lot of havoc and ill will in the Democratic Party going against what I rightly perceived as an insane “dream ticket”. As a Democrat, I felt that my combative campaign probably bothered you but at the time I did not think it would really affect your rulings. I also knew that my actions in my Democratic campaign for governor alone would not be enough to recuse you under the TRCP, so I let it go.

4) I was concerned at trial that you kept looking to the Bar for responses to my challenges and took Mr. Molleston’s word at face value when you knew that Dawn Miller had a history of ignoring the law as evidenced by her filing suit against me ten years ago after the statute of limitations had run. That suit was dismissed with prejudice. I informed you early on that I intended to shut down the State Bar grievance process and that we would be going into many areas of the law on a first impression basis but you continued to trust the Bar. I still believe that you did not take a careful look at the current state of the disciplinary law even though my good name and ability to make a living hung in the balance.

4) I was greatly concerned when you signed an order with a Mother Hubbard clause in it which your significant judicial experience undeniably proves that you knew that if I did not move to modify the Judgment of Disbarment, would have wiped out all my counter claims in the lawsuit which you verbally severed at pretrial. I still find it hard to believe that you signed the Judgment for Disbarment with that clause in it.

5) I also weighed the fact that I had withdrawn from the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite and Shrine in 1988 (I was raised in 1973 at Oak Forest Lodge in Houston) after I changed my name to WorldPeace because I did not want to be affiliated with any organization. I considered this when I saw your Masonic ring when I first met you.

6) I was further concerned when I received a call from Andy Sanchez 30 minutes after I faxed you my letter yesterday responding to Mr. Molleston’s letter of August 26^th. Mr. Sanchez told me that you had come into Houston unannounced on Wednesday and signed multiple orders in this lawsuit. I was not sent a copy of a single order. I was told by Mr. Sanchez to go see the ancillary clerk this morning to get copies of the order.

Well the problem is that trying to track down an order in Harris County in the week after it has been signed is a nightmare. In this case, I do not even know what to ask for because I have no idea what you signed. (I am asking you to order Mr. Sanchez to make sure a copy of the orders you signed are faxed to me today. I have no intention of spending my day trying to track down an unknown number of orders which you signed.)

7) I am concerned with the fact that I signed up to run for Mayor of Houston at 8:15 am on Monday, August 25^th, (the first day of filing) and that two days later you came into town unannounced and signed multiple orders after setting aside the initial judgment for disbarment two months prior on June 23, 2003. It is too much of a coincidence that you would wait two months and then come into Houston within forty eight hours after I filed for Mayor.

8) What makes this matter even more complicated is the fact that this morning in doing an internet search on you, I found a Legislative Resolution honoring you on May 18, 2001. (Copy attached) What stuck out like a gigantic red flag was the fact that you are an elder of Covenant Presbyterian Church. I am locked in a vicious battle with Heights Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of New Covenant on behalf of my mother and about half of the congregation at Heights Presbyterian Church. (See http://www.presbyterians-r-us.com)

In addition, I have an appeal on file in the Fifth Appellate Court in Dallas, Cause No. 05-02-02882-CV regarding what I consider a $1 million illegal bequest to the Presbyterian Church to the detriment of my client Dan Cupp. The point is that since I have been emailing the entire bureaucracy of the Presbyterian Church, USA (Presbyteries, Synods, General Assembly and many individual churches) regarding the problems at Heights, there is little doubt in my mind that you were aware of the fact that I am putting the Presbyterian Church, USA on trial.

Further, I cannot help but believe that you are aware that Judge Lindsay, in the 280^th District Court, Harris County, has many submission hearings set for September 8, 2003 regarding my mother’s lawsuit involving the Presbyterian Church (Cause No. 2002-20203 ) I am sure that you are aware that a disguised motion for abatement was granted by Judge Lindsay on June 11, 2003, due to the April 23, 2003, Judgment for Disbarment which you set aside. (Copy attached) The point is that I believe you intended to enter a new judgment of disbarment to further delay a ruling by Judge Lindsay to the benefit of the Presbyterian Church Defendant’s in that lawsuit. The timing is just too coincidental.

9) What further impacts on the Presbyterian Church connection is the fact that on August 26, 2003, the State Bar processed a grievance against me filed by Walter Ellis, of Heights Presbyterian Church and one of the main conspirators in the theft of funds from Heights, on July 24^th. The question is again why was this grievance processed by the Bar on August 26^th, the day after I filed for Mayor when the Bar had it for a month? Then the following day, August 27^th, you came into Houston unannounced and sign orders.

10) Quite frankly the coincidences are just too numerous. I cannot ignore all this and not request you to vacate your orders of August 27th and recuse yourself from this case. I am very much aware that this is a drastic action. However, I can no longer give you the benefit of the doubt as to you impartiality in these proceedings.

I am asking you to vacate your orders of August 27th and to recuse yourself. I will give you until next Wednesday, September 3, 2003, to do this. If you do not recuse yourself, I will have no choice but to file an official motion to recuse which I believe will have to be considered by the Supreme Court as opposed to Administrative Judge Underwood who presides over Harris County. I cannot allow you to rule on my post judgment motions. Especially, considering the undeniable fact that you severed the mandatory counter claims which significant case law dictates is an abuse of discretion.

Very sincerely,

WorldPeace

cc:

J. G. Molleston, State Bar of Texas via fax 713-752-2158

EXHIBIT "B"

John WorldPeace
Attorney at Law
2620 Fountainview, Suite 106
Houston , Texas 77057
Tel:  713-784-7618   Fax:  713-784-9063
email: johnworldpeace@aol.com

  August 29, 2003

 The Honorable James R. Fry
15^th Judicial District Court
200 S. Crockett St .
Sherman , Texas   75090                                                 via fax:  903-813-4304

 Re:       No.  2002-42081; Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. John WorldPeace,
            In the 269^th Judicial District Court, Harris County , Texas

RECUSAL LETTER SUPPLEMENT

1)  I have acquired a copy of the Judgment for Disbarment signed by the court on August 27, 2003 .

 2)  I would call the court’s attention to Mathis v. Bill De La Garza & Assoc., 778 SW2d 105 (Tex.App. – Texarkana, 1989) (Attached)  In that case, the issue came up as to whether there was a severance or separate trials.

3) I listened carefully to the audio recording that I made of the pretrial discussion months ago.  The court used the word severance several times regarding the constitutional counter claims.  In fact, Mr. Molleston at one point in the conversation stated that he would waive his Motion for Severance which he filed on April 9, 2003 , and which was being considered by the court in pretrial, but then later in the discussion withdrew his waiver.  The court granted his motion to sever.

4)  The record is clear that the court severed the Lang and Apodaca matters, severed my constitutional counterclaims and then entered a Judgment for Disbarment that did not mention anything but the Rule violation which the court specifically stated was all that was going to be tried.

5)  The problem is that it is an undeniable abuse of discretion for the court to have severed those mandatory counterclaims.  Mathis.  The problem is that the court did not order separate trials, which would have been an abuse in this matter anyway, but ordered a severance and the record is as undeniable as it was in Mathis.

6) The reality is that this case is going to have to be retired and the court knows it.

7) This is NOT a formal motion to modify the judgment, motion for new trial or motion of any kind.  This letter is just a supplement to my recusal letter this morning.

Very sincerely, 

John WorldPeace

cc:

J. G. Molleston, State Bar                                                         via fax at 713-752-2158

EXHIBIT "C"

Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. John WorldPeace 

Transcription of Trial 1 Tape from April 14, 2003

 29:40   Molleston

             Well, your honor, if that is the case then we would withdraw the motion to sever.

 29:53   Fry

             Now, with regard to the motion to dismiss filed by Mr. Lang.  Here is what I am going to do.  I’m going to deny the motion to dismiss.  I am going to sever the third party claims against Lang and Apodaca.  Trial at a later time.  That I think will let us move to the motion to disqualify.

Transcription of Trial 2 Tape from April 14, 2003

 49:09   WorldPeace 

So my continuance is based upon this case is too complex, too intertwined to try to present to a jury at this point.

 49:19   Fry 

Here’s what we are going to do. 

Frankly to the point of what you say I mean it is very well taken.  Especially in regards to some of these constitutional issues, I do need some input.  So here is what I’m going to do.  I’m going to um, I’m going to sever the _____.  I am going to keep them.  I am not going to give those to anybody else.  I’m going to sever those issues to be determined by the court.  Once we get through with this, I don’t know for sure that I will want an immediate, uh uh assuming that they that they find some violation of the, of the rules, I don’t know that I would want an immediate hearing on sanctions or not I know that I will want a hearing and frankly, part of that will be your constitutional issues.  Uh, I will want to take those up at that time.  I am going to sever that out.  We are going to try simply the question of whether or not there are any violations or not.  And that is all we are going to present to this jury.  We can at least get this part of that done.  So to that extent I am going to overrule the motion to continue.

 50:25   WorldPeace

             Let me…

 50:27   Fry

             Let me say a few things.

 50:28   WorldPeace

             Ok.

 50:32   Fry 

            Because I want to make sure you all, I want to make sure ya’ll understand where I am coming from.  I am going to, I’m going to do everything I can to give both of you a full opportunity to present your sides.  That has been my habit and custom for nineteen years on the bench and frankly doing fourteen years as a trial lawyer that is what I expected and I think that is all you can ask for.

How can we manifest peace on earth if we do not include everyone (all races, all nations, all religions, both sexes) in our vision of Peace?

The WorldPeace Banner

The WorldPeace Insignia : Explanation 

To order a WorldPeace Insignia lapel pin, go to: Order  

To the John WorldPeace Galleries Page

To the WorldPeace Peace Page