Judge grants withdrawal of defense counsel, appoints Whitney Moore for Juan Jose Hernandez Jr.

Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 granted a motion to withdraw defense counsel for Juan Jose Hernandez Jr. in case 24CCR240766 and appointed Whitney Moore to represent him, the judge said during a virtual status docket.

The withdrawal was allowed after defense counsel, Mr. Dacote, told the court that communications with the defendant had eroded an effective attorney‑client relationship. The defendant, Juan Jose Hernandez Jr., told the court he had been awaiting case progress for months. The judge directed that a proposed order be filed and that the outgoing counsel provide the new attorney a complete copy of the digital file.

Mr. Dacote, defense counsel, asked the court to allow his withdrawal, saying only that “the motion speaks for itself.” Juan Jose Hernandez Jr., the defendant, told the court he had experienced long waits in his cases and said, “I got monitored for 10 months already, sir.” The judge said he was granting the motion to withdraw, stating, “Im granting the motion to withdraw.”

During the exchange the judge also addressed the pace of local misdemeanor dockets, noting that such cases routinely take several months to resolve. The judge said, “every 1 of these cases take anywhere from 9 to 15 months to come to a conclusion,” language the court used to explain the scheduling tempo for defendants who asked about delay.

The court record shows a proposed order for the withdrawal had been prepared; outgoing counsel said the order would be e-filed by the end of the business day. The judge announced that Whitney Moore was appointed to represent Hernandez and instructed counsel and court staff to provide Hernandez with contact information. The judge told the defendant he would be given the new counsels contact details and then was free to go.

The transcript did not specify a new hearing date for Hernandez in this docket or any immediate changes to pending trial dates.