Opinion
NO. 14-20-00451-CR NO. 14-20-00452-CR NO. 14-20-00453-CR NO. 14-20-00454-CR
06-24-2020
IN RE THE STATE OF TEXAS EX REL. KIM OGG, HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Relator
WRIT OF MANDAMUS
WRIT OF PROHIBITION
County Criminal Court at Law No. 16 Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. 2288950 & 2288951
ORDER
On June 23, 2020, relator the State of Texas ex rel. Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney, filed petitions for writs of mandamus and petition for writs of prohibition in this court. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petitions for writs of mandamus, relator asks this court to compel the Honorable Darrell Jordan, presiding judge of Country Criminal Court at Law No. 16 in Harris County, to set aside his June 11, 2020 ruling granting the real party in interest's motion to conduct a bench trial without relator's consent to waiver of a jury trial entered in trial court cause numbers 2288950 and 2288951, The State of Texas v. Jacob Darrin Straughan. In the petitions for writs of prohibition, relator seeks to prevent Judge Jordan from proceeding to trial with Judge Jordan acting as fact finder.
Relator has also filed motions for temporary relief of the proceedings below. See Tex. R. App. P. 52.8(b), 52.10. On June 23, 2020, relator asked this court to stay proceedings in the trial court pending a decision on the petitions for writs of mandamus and the petitions for writs of prohibition.
It appears from the facts stated in the petitions and motions that relator's requests for relief require further consideration and that relator will be prejudiced unless immediate temporary relief is granted. We therefore GRANT relator's motions and issue the following order:
We ORDER the trial scheduled to commence on June 26, 2020, in trial court cause numbers 2288950 and 2288951, The State of Texas v. Jacob Darrin Straughan, STAYED until a final decision by this court on relator's petitions for writs of mandamus and petitions for writs of prohibition, or until further order of this court.
In addition, the court requests Jacob Darrin Straughan, the real party in interest, to file responses to the petitions for writ of mandamus and petitions for writ of prohibition on or before July 8, 2020. See Tex. R. App. P. 52.4.
PER CURIAM Panel consists Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Spain.