Opinion
No. 06-17-00042-CV
03-31-2017
IN RE CAROLYN BARNES
Original Mandamus Proceeding Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Carolyn Barnes—an attorney acting pro se and claiming to be unable to afford to pay for the appellate record for an appeal pending in this Court after her appeal had been transferred from the Tenth District Court of Appeals in Waco—has asked us for mandamus relief against the Honorable Phil Robertson, Judge of the 220th Judicial District Court in Hamilton County, Texas, because allegedly he is impeding Barnes from getting, on a timely basis, all the trial record she wants. We deny Barnes' petition for want of jurisdiction, for the reasons set out below.
See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (West 2013).
The 220th Judicial District Court of Hamilton County, Texas, presided over Barnes' case below, which case is now on direct appeal in this Court.
Barnes wants this Court to direct the 220th Judicial District Court "to respect the loss of plenary power, cease interference with the appeals, stop influencing the court reporters, and to direct the court reporters to present any objections to this Court, if any legitimate objections there be." In the alternative, Barnes asks us to order the court reporter to prepare and file a transcript of the 220th Judicial District Court's hearing on Barnes' statement of inability to afford payment of costs for the appellate record.
Approximately two months ago, Barnes filed her first petition for writ of mandamus in this Court. Her initial petition included many of the same complaints and substantially similar requests that are contained in this petition. We denied Barnes' previously filed petition for writ of mandamus for want of jurisdiction. See In re Barnes, No. 06-17-00019-CV, 2017 WL 359790 (Tex. App.—Texarkana Jan. 24, 2017, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
"Each court of appeals for a court of appeals district may issue all writs of mandamus . . . against a . . . judge of a district or county court in the court of appeals district." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.221(b)(1) (West 2004). The 220th Judicial District Court of Hamilton County is not located within our district. Hamilton County is located within the Tenth Court of Appeals District, served by the Waco Court of Appeals.
"The Sixth Court of Appeals is composed of the counties of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur, and Wood." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.201(g) (West Supp. 2016).
TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.201(k) (West Supp. 2016). Barnes also filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the Waco Court of Appeals. In January 2017, the Waco Court of Appeals denied Barnes' petition. See In re Barnes, No. 10-17-00003-CV, 2017 WL 123915 (Tex. App—Waco Jan. 11, 2017, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
Though the underlying appeal has been transferred to, and is pending in, this Court, the transfer of a case pursuant to a Texas Supreme Court docket equalization order does not carry with it any jurisdiction in a separate original proceeding. In re Davis, 87 S.W.3d 794, 794 n.1 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2002, orig. proceeding). In other words, there exists no statutory authority allowing this Court to exercise jurisdiction over a mandamus proceeding brought against a judge or a court reporter sitting in the 220th Judicial District of Hamilton County, Texas.
We also may issue a writ of mandamus to the extent necessary to enforce our jurisdiction. TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.221(a) (West 2004). Barnes does not demonstrate that our jurisdiction is at stake here.
We dismiss Barnes' petition for writ of mandamus for want of jurisdiction.
Josh R. Morriss, III
Chief Justice Date Submitted: March 30, 2017
Date Decided: March 31, 2017