Retired judge backs out after saying he'd help preside over Ken Paxton's impeachment trial

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is again looking for help to preside over suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial, after the retired judge who agreed to do it backed out after one day, citing a donation he made to Paxton's political opponent two years ago.

In a letter declining Patrick's offer on Saturday, former Houston-based judge Marc Brown said that he did not want to be a distraction and to be seen as biased. A day earlier, Patrick announced that he had chosen Brown after a search spanning several months.

The announcement leaves Patrick without a helping hand with almost two weeks to go before the Sept. 5 trial. Patrick, who is not a lawyer, is tasked with ruling on certain motions and objections, just as a judge would. On Friday, in announcing the Brown selection, he said he wanted someone with courtroom experience as a lawyer and a judge.

"I have full confidence in my ability to fairly offer legal advice in this matter," Brown wrote in his letter. "However, the proceedings ... are far too important to the state of Texas for there to be any distractions involving allegations of favoritism or personal bias on my part."

Patrick confirmed that Brown no longer will serve as his legal counsel.

"I accepted his declination to serve," he said in a statement.

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The about-face came after Patrick vetted Brown and discussed his political activities, apparently believing there were no conflicts. Brown, according to the letter, represented at the time that he did not have any relationship that would affect his ability to fairly judge the proceedings. In the letter, he says he now recalls that in November 2021 he and his wife contributed $250 to Eva Guzman, a Republican primary challenger to Paxton. Guzman, before running for attorney general, was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

"I did not recall that during our meetings with your staff," Brown wrote.

Brown had previously served as a justice on the 14th Court of Appeals and, before that, as a judge in a Harris County criminal court.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former judge backs out of helping preside over Paxton's impeachment trial