Summary
explaining that because article 64.05 of Code of Criminal Procedure authorizes appeal, relator had "an adequate remedy at law"
Summary of this case from In re NelsonOpinion
No. 08-14-00182-CR
08-06-2014
IN RE: KEVIN BOYER, Relator.
AN ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN MANDAMUS MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator, Kevin Boyer, filed a prose petition for writ of mandamus in which he complains that Hon. Richard A. Roman, formerly sitting as Judge of the 346th District Court of El Paso County, denied Relator's prose motion for post-conviction DNA testing under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 64. See TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 64.01-64.05(West Supp. 2013). Relator asserts the State seized evidence, specifically tennis shoes and a jersey, which contains biological material.
Relator presents no statement of facts or argument in his petition. See TEX.R.APP.P. 52.3(g), (h). In his accompanying affidavit, Appellant avers that he served his "Chapter 64 Motion" on the 346th District Court of El Paso, Texas on March 10, 2014. No copy of Relator's motion for forensic DNA testing was presented to the Court. Relator has not filed a copy of Respondent's order denying Relator's motion for DNA testing. See TEX.R.APP.P. 52.3(k)(1)(A).
To be entitled to mandamus relief, Relator must demonstrate that the act he seeks to compel is ministerial and that he does not have an adequate remedy at law. State ex rel. Young v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court of Appeals, 236 S.W.3d 207, 210 (Tex.Crim.App. 2007)(orig. proceeding). Article 64.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides that an appeal under Chapter 64 is to a court of appeals in the same manner as an appeal of any other non-capital criminal matter. TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 64.05 (West 2006). Because Relator has an adequate remedy at law, he is not entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, Relator's petition for writ of mandamus is denied. August 6, 2014
ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice Before McClure, C.J., Rivera, and Rodriguez, JJ. (Do Not Publish)