Judge Hoyt Recuses Himself From Texas True The Vote Case
In October, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ordered the leader of True the Vote and an advocate to be held in jail for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the name of a confidential FBI informant. Houston attorneys, Michael J. Wynne and Cameron Powell of Gregor Wynne Arney, filed a writ challenging the contempt order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, arguing the finding of contempt was unprecedented and in error and the pair should be released from jail. The appeals court agreed and granted their release on November 7, 2022.
Lawyers for True the Vote, argued in a motion to recuse that Hoyt had been influenced by the plaintiff’s “disparaging” and “irrelevant” statements and that Hoyt exhibited a bias against the group that could affect, or appear to affect, his decision in court proceedings.
Attorney Wynne also noted that a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Hoyt’s contempt order and made the unusual statement that Hoyt’s rulings against True the Vote were made “to litigate the case on Konnech’s behalf,” which implied Judge Hoyt favored the plaintiff.