From Texas Defender Service:

Today, Collin County District Court Judge Greg Brewer rescheduled a hearing for Monday, September 8th at 9 a.m. on the Petition to Take Depositions in the Charles Hood case. The purpose of the hearing will be to further investigate the allegations of a romantic relationship between Judge Verla Sue Holland and former District Attorney Thomas O'Connell at the time of Mr. Hood's 1990 capital murder trial.
 
Attached please find the Notice of Hearing, which orders "the parties to be prepared to take the depositions on oral examination of the witnesses, the Hon. Verla Sue Holland and Mr. Thomas S. O'Connell, Jr., at the courthouse, immediately following the hearing, if the Court should grant depositions."
 
The rescheduled hearing date follows the recusal of Collin County District Court Judge Robert Dry from the case. Judge Dry recused himself yesterday due to his business relationship with the ex-husband of Judge Holland.

The hearing will take place in the courtroom of the 366th Judicial District Court of Collin Country, located in the Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, Texas.

Hood gets hearing on judge-prosecutor relationship
By Chuck Lindell | Thursday, September 4, 2008, 02:39 PM

Death row inmate Charles Dean Hood will no longer have to wait until after his Sept. 10 execution date to argue that his trial judge and prosecutor should be forced to answer questions about their alleged relationship.

Hood claims he was denied a fair trial because former Judge Verla Sue Holland and former Collin County District Attorney Thomas O’Connell were in a secret relationship during his 1990 trial.

Judge Robert Dry had scheduled a Sept. 12 hearing on Hood’s request to compel Holland and O’Connell to testify, but Dry recused himself from the case Wednesday.

Hood’s new judge, Greg Brewer, on Thursday set a hearing on the matter for 9 a.m. Monday in Collin County.

Hood was sentenced to die in the 1989 shooting deaths of his boss, Ronald Williamson, and Williamson’s girlfriend Tracie Wallace in their Plano home.

Hood’s bloody fingerprints were found inside the home. When he was arrested a day after the killings, in Indiana, Hood had the victims’ car, clothes, jewelry, camera and credit cards.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2008/09/04/hood_gets_hearing_on_judgepros.html

IN THE 366TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
OF COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS
________________________________________
)
)
IN RE CHARLES DEAN HOOD, )
) CAUSE NO. 199-02483-2008
)
PETITIONER )
)
________________________________________ )
NOTICE OF HEARING
The Court, through its coordinator, has asked counsel for Petitioner Charles Dean Hood to inform all parties having an interest in the Petition to Take Depositions under Tex. R. Civ. P.
202 that the Court has ORDERED a hearing on the Petition for September 8, 2008, at 9:00 a.m.
in the courtroom of the 366th Judicial District Court of Collin County, Texas, located in the Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, Texas 75071.

The Court has further ORDERED the parties to be prepared to take the depositions on oral examination of the witnesses, the Hon. Verla Sue Holland and Mr. Thomas S. O’Connell,
Jr., at the courthouse, immediately following the hearing, if the Court should so grant depositions. Accordingly, the witnesses should also be prepared to bring with them the
following documents, referenced in the Petition to Take Depositions under Tex. R. Civ. P. 202:

A. All letters, cards, and gifts exchanged between Judge Holland and Mr. O’Connell.
B. All credit card or store receipts for any gifts exchanged between Judge Holland and Mr. O’Connell or purchases made for each other.
C. All photographs and videotapes depicting Judge Holland and Mr. O’Connell together.
D. All e-mails or text messages from Judge Holland or Mr. O’Connell to any others, pertaining to Petitioner's recent allegations about their romantic relationship.
DATED: September 4, 2008

Gregory W. Wiercioch
Texas Bar No. 00791925
430 Jersey Street
San Francisco, California 94114
(832) 741-6203
(512) 477-2153/fax

A. Richard Ellis
Texas Bar No. 06560400
75 Magee Avenue
Mill Valley, California 94941
(415) 389-6771
(415) 389-0251/fax
Counsel for Petitioner