Summary
The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, dismissed Tony Ramirez’s pro se petition for writ of mandamus for want of jurisdiction. The court concluded that the requested relief constituted post-conviction habeas relief available only under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07 and within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Texas Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to consider a mandamus petition seeking relief that could be obtained only through a post-conviction habeas application under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07.
- Whether Ramirez's request for leave to file the mandamus petition was moot.
Holdings
- A Texas court of appeals lacks jurisdiction to consider a petition styled as mandamus when the relief sought is relief available only through a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07, because the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over post-conviction habeas relief from final felony convictions.
- To the extent Ramirez sought leave to file the mandamus petition, that request was moot and was denied.
Key quotations
“The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction to grant post-conviction habeas relief in felony cases.” (1)
“Because the relief that Ramirez seeks in his petition would only be available through a writ of habeas corpus under article 11.07, we are without jurisdiction to consider the petition.” (1)
Factual background
Ramirez was convicted in 1992 of attempted capital murder and sentenced to sixty years' confinement. While incarcerated, he filed multiple applications for writ of habeas corpus challenging that conviction, which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied. He then sought mandamus relief asking the court to direct a judge to dismiss the criminal charges in the prior case.
Procedural history
Ramirez was convicted of attempted capital murder in 1992 and sentenced to sixty years' confinement. After multiple unsuccessful post-conviction habeas applications in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, he filed a pro se mandamus petition in the Texas Court of Appeals. The court concluded that the requested relief was available only through a post-conviction habeas application under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07 and dismissed for want of jurisdiction.