Summary
holding that court of appeals did not have jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against a district clerk unless it was necessary to enforce the court of appeals' jurisdiction
Summary of this case from In re HernandezOpinion
No. 11-18-00328-CR
11-29-2018
IN RE MICHAEL SHANE TINSLEY
Original Mandamus Proceeding
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator, Michael Shane Tinsley, has filed a pro se petition for writ of mandamus in this court. He requests that we require the district clerk of Palo Pinto County to perform ministerial duties related to Article 11.07, section 3(c) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3(c) (West 2015). Relator asserts that the district clerk has failed to transmit a copy of certain documents as required. We dismiss Relator's petition for want of jurisdiction.
A court of appeals has no jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against a district clerk unless necessary to enforce the jurisdiction of the court of appeals. In re Washington, 7 S.W.3d 181, 182 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, orig. proceeding). Relator has not shown that a writ of mandamus directed to the district clerk is necessary to enforce our jurisdiction. Therefore, we do not have jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against the district clerk.
Additionally, Relator references the clerk's duties to transmit copies of various documents to the Court of Criminal Appeals pursuant to Article 11.07, section 3(c). We have no jurisdiction to grant the relief requested by Relator with respect to a pending Article 11.07 writ. See Padieu v. Court of Appeals of Texas, Fifth Dist., 392 S.W.3d 115, 117-18 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (indicating that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction when an Article 11.07 application is pending). We have no authority to issue writs of mandamus in criminal law matters pertaining to proceedings under Article 11.07. In re McAfee, 53 S.W.3d 715, 718 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001, orig. proceeding). Should an applicant find it necessary to complain about the processing of an Article 11.07 application for writ of habeas corpus, the applicant may seek mandamus relief from the Court of Criminal Appeals. See Benson v. District Clerk, 331 S.W.3d 431 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011).
Relator's petition is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM November 29, 2018 Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Willson, J., and Wright, S.C.J. Willson, J., not participating.
Jim R. Wright, Senior Chief Justice (Retired), Court of Appeals, 11th District of Texas at Eastland, sitting by assignment.