The on-again, off-again deposition of former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones is on hold again.
Lawyers for Jackson Walker want to question Judge Jones about his secret relationship with one of its former partners while still handling corporate bankruptcy cases involving the lawyer and the law firm.
U.S. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez of the Southern District of Texas held a hearing Tuesday to determine which questions, if any, lawyers can force Judge Jones to answer because they are not permitted to ask about his reasoning for the decision to not recuse himself from the cases involving Jackson Walker.
Efforts to question Judge Jones might have added an additional roadblock this week when The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing evidence in the Judge Jones scandal to see if any criminal laws were violated. The inquiry has been described as preliminary.
The U.S. Trustee’s office, the federal government’s bankruptcy watchdog, is seeking to claw back an estimated $13 million in fee payments awarded by Judge Jones to Jackson Walker in about two dozen corporate bankruptcy cases between 2020 and 2023.
The trustee claims that Jackson Walker failed to disclose that one of its bankruptcy partners, Elizabeth Freeman, was in a romantic relationship with Judge Jones.
In its defense, Jackson Walker argues that Freeman lied to the firm when she repeatedly denied being in a relationship with the judge. Freeman, in court papers, admits that she misled her old firm.
Jackson Walker states that it pushed Freeman out of the partnership and out of the firm in 2022 when it learned she had rekindled an old relationship with Judge Jones.
In Tuesday’s court hearing in Houston, Chief Judge Rodriguez put the deposition of Judge Jones, originally scheduled for Thursday, on hold citing his concerns that questions might seek answers regarding his judicial decisions, which are off limits, according to Bloomberg Law, which attended the hearing.
“The decision to recuse should not be questioned or explored,” Chief Judge Rodriguez said, according to Bloomberg Law. “These are operations of the court.”
The case is Professional Fee Matters Concerning Jackson Walker Law Firm, Bankruptcy, SDTX, No. 23-00645.