Opinion
NO. 14-14-00276-CR
04-17-2014
IN RE LEONARDO M. LOZANO, Relator
Petition for Writ of Mandamus Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed April 17, 2014.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
WRIT OF MANDAMUS
228th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1277258
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On April 8, 2014, relator Leonardo M. Lozano filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this Court. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this Court to compel the Honorable Marc Carter, presiding judge of the 228th District Court of Harris County, to rule on his motion for dismissal based on newly discovered evidence.
Although courts of appeals have jurisdiction in criminal matters, only the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction over matters related to final post-conviction felony proceedings. Tex. Code Proc. Ann. Art. 11.07, § 5 (West Supp. 2013); Padieu v. Court of Appeals of Tex., Fifth Dist., 392 S.W.3d 115, 117 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (orig. proceeding). The Court of Criminal Appeals' exclusive jurisdiction under article 11.07 does not, however, divest the courts of appeals of jurisdiction to decide the merits of a mandamus petition complaining that a district judge has not ruled on a motion when the relator has no article 11.07 application pending. Padieu, 392 S.W.3d at 117-18.
We do not have jurisdiction over relator's petition. In the motion relator purportedly filed in the trial court, relator references an "Art. 11.07 writ, seeking my justice." To the extent that relator's motion can be construed as an article 11.07 application for writ of habeas corpus, only the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction over relator's requested relief. See id. at 117. Because it appears that relator filed this motion in connection with a pending article 11.07 application, we do not have jurisdiction to compel the trial court to rule on relator's motion. See id. at 117-18.
Accordingly, we dismiss relator's petition for writ of mandamus for lack of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM Panel Consists of Justices Boyce, Busby, and Wise.
Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).