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In re Morgan

State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Mar 16, 2021
NO. 14-21-00119-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 16, 2021)

Opinion

NO. 14-21-00119-CRNO. 14-21-00120-CR

03-16-2021

IN RE BRANDON RAY MORGAN, Relator


ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS
338th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. 1419351 & 1354996

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On March 4, 2021, relator Brandon Ray Morgan 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 Ramona Franklin, presiding judge of the 338th District Court of Harris County, to order the State of Texas and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences through the Harris County District Attorney's Office to provide paper copies of the complete litigation packet underlying the testing data in his case.

To be entitled to mandamus relief, a relator must show that (1) he has no adequate remedy at law for obtaining the relief that he seeks; and (2) what the relator seeks to compel involves a ministerial act rather than a discretionary act. In re Powell, 516 S.W.3d 488, 494-95 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017) (orig. proceeding). A governmental body is not required to accept or comply with a request for information from an individual who is imprisoned or confined in a correctional facility. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 552.028(a)(1). Disclosure of information requested by an inmate is discretionary. Harrison v. Vance, 34 S.W.3d 660, 663 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000, no pet.). Therefore, the trial court does not have a ministerial duty to compel the State of Texas or the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences through the Harris County District Attorney's Office to provide paper copies of the complete litigation packet underlying the testing data.

Relator has not shown that he is entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, we deny relator's petition for writ of mandamus.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Wise, Zimmerer, Poissant.
Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).


Summaries of

In re Morgan

State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Mar 16, 2021
NO. 14-21-00119-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 16, 2021)
Case details for

In re Morgan

Case Details

Full title:IN RE BRANDON RAY MORGAN, Relator

Court:State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Date published: Mar 16, 2021

Citations

NO. 14-21-00119-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 16, 2021)