Opinion
NO. WR-67,714-15
08-22-2018
IN RE DAVID JAMES, Relator
ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF MANDAMUS CAUSE NO. 21,928 IN THE 12 DISTRICT COURT FROM WALKER COUNTY Per curiam. ORDER
Relator has filed a motion for leave to file a writ of mandamus pursuant to the original jurisdiction of this Court. In it, he contends that he mailed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the 12 District Court of Walker County, but that the District Clerk refused to file it.
We held the application in abeyance and ordered the District Clerk to respond. The Clerk filed a response stating that Relator "has not filed an application since 2016." However, Relator has forwarded correspondence which indicates that he attempted to file an 11.07 writ of habeas corpus in Walker County in April 2018. He received a letter from the Clerk stating that the filing must be on the correct 11.07 form to be accepted. This is contrary to the duties of the District Clerk as articulated in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 73.4(a) which states: "The district clerk of the county of conviction shall accept and file all Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07 applications."
However, the correspondence provided by Relator also indicates that the Clerk returned the documents Relator attempted to file, so it is likely that the clerk has no documents to file at this time. Therefore, leave to file this application for mandamus is denied. Relator is free to resend the article 11.07 writ of habeas corpus to the Walker County District Clerk, for filing and eventual forwarding to this Court to ultimately make its ruling. Filed: August 22, 2018
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