A battle between County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Christopher Dupuy and part-time 306th District Court Associate Family Law Judge Suzanne Schwab-Radcliffe over whether she also can practice as a family lawyer in his court is bringing attention to one of the most unusual judicial arrangements in Texas.

The background to the dispute, according to a Dec. 21, 2012, decision by Houston’s 1st Court of Appeals in In Re Cecelia Marie Ryan and Suzanne Schwab-Radcliffe, is as follows.