Although Judge Bouressa did not explain why she recused herself from my case, attorney Mitch Little later said that it was due to a potential conflict caused by the fact that she was a former associate at Scheef & Stone (S&S), Mitch’s law firm.
Mitch was the lead attorney for my opponents in the case, and Judge Bouressa might have felt that some people might reasonably believe that she was biased in his favor. Even if she believed that she was perfectly capable of rendering an impartial decision, judges are supposed to recuse themselves if they believe that they’re in a situation where there might be even the appearance of bias, so perhaps that’s what led her to recuse herself. I don’t know that for a fact, of course, but I can’t think of any other reason why she might have recused herself. (I want to emphasize that I’m not being critical of her decision. I just wish she had done it much sooner.)
But at any rate, it was now up to Presiding Judge Ray Wheless to appoint a new judge. There were a dozen other District Court judges in Collin County, and only one of those judges had a former association with S&S – so Judge Wheless should not have had any problem finding a new judge who would not have the same potential conflict that Judge Bouressa had.
With that in mind, would you like to guess which judge he chose to be the new judge on my case?
Good guess.
George B. Flint was a partner at Scheef & Stone from 2017 until 2020, when he left the firm to run for Judge of the District Court of Collin County, Texas, an election that he won. I could only speculate about why Judge Wheless replaced one judge who was formerly associated with S&S with the only other Collin County judge who was also formerly associated with S&S.
Hot Potato Lawsuit
On Thursday September 8, two days after Judge Bouressa had recused herself from my lawsuit, Judge Wheless expeditiously assigned the case to Judge Flint:
Based on a recusal this case is transferred to 401st District Court of Collin County, Texas.
Signed this 8th day of September, 2022.
Ray Wheless, Presiding Judge
First Administrative Judicial Region
It took Judge Flint all of one day to decide that it was not right for him to preside over my case:
On this the 9th day of September, 2022, I respectfully recuse myself from hearing the above styled and numbered cause.
George B. Flint, Judge Presiding
Like Judge Bouressa before him, Judge Flint gave no reason for his recusal. But unlike Judge Bouressa, it didn’t take Judge Flint two months to realize that recusal was something that he was obligated to do.
Luckily, there were still eleven judges in Collin County to whom Judge Ray Wheless could transfer the case (one of whom was his wife, Judge Cynthia Wheless).
So, who would draw the short straw?
Fun Facts: February 2026
I’m interrupting this historical narrative from 2022 to bring you some marginally related information that falls into the category of current events as I’m writing this in February of 2026,
George Flint decided not to run again for his judgeship in 2024. Instead, the following year, he filed to run in the Republican primary for District 70 of the Texas House of Representatives. As it happens, I live in that district! (I mean, what are the odds?) So even though George managed to serve as my judge for only one day, he’s hoping to serve as my representative in the Texas House for two years.
George is running against two opponents in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026. I’m totally unfamiliar with the candidates, so I’m not even going to try to predict who will win. [Update: George won his primary, garnering 57% of the vote.] And although I don’t have any qualifications to act as a political analyst, I think that George is basically running for the right to lose to the incumbent Democratic representative, Mihaela Plesa.
The reason I think that George will lose to Mihaela is that District 70, in the southwestern corner of Collin County, has been heavily gerrymandered to be a Democratic district. When I look at it, I see a shape that could be described as the head of a deformed rabbit, with a stubby nose and two misshapen ears – and, in a whimsical note, a cute little tongue hanging out. (If you can’t see it, I blame it on a lack of imagination.) Improbably, it incorporates seemingly random portions of the cities of Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Allen.
Republicans control the districting functions of the Texas legislature, and they seem to have tried to cram as many Democrats into District 70 as possible, to help ensure that Democrats don’t seep into other Collin County districts and infect them. Although this may concede one Collin County seat to Democrats, it makes it nearly impossible for Democrats to accidentally win two seats.
As far as I know, this is completely legal and constitutional. Personally, I think gerrymandering is an abomination, whether it’s done to help Democrats or Republicans. But that rant will have to wait for my next website.
Mitch Little is still a partner at Scheef & Stone. But like George Flint, Mitch wanted to be a member of the Texas House of Representatives. But unlike George, Mitch succeeded.
Mitch gained national attention when he successfully defended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (also from Collin County) against impeachment charges in 2023. As a reward, Ken endorsed Mitch when he ran against incumbent Kronda Thimesch (a Republican supported by Texas Governor Greg Abbott) in the 2024 Republican primary for District 65 of the Texas House of Representatives. With Ken’s help. Mitch won a narrow victory in the primary, and then cruised past Democrat Detrick Deburr to predictably win the election in a heavily Republican district.
and attorney Tony Buzbee (left).
The same candidates are running unopposed in their respective primaries next month, so they’ll face off again in the general election in November. Even though Democrats seem to be gaining strength in Texas, District 65 has been neatly gerrymandered to snake around urban areas (where Democrats have been known to hide out), so Mitch seems likely to be elected to represent District 65 for another two years.
Although I’m thankful that Mitch is not my representative, he’s too close for comfort: The eastern boundary of District 65 runs flush against the Collin-Denton County line, which is all of 200 yards west of my house.
Document Links
Judge Flint’s assignment
Judge Flint’s recusal
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