Barney Joe Donalson Jr. AKA: Damon Henry Downs v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 26, 2008
• Docket: 14-08-00496-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed June 26, 2008

Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed June 26, 2008.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-08-00496-CR

NO. 14-08-00497-CR

NO. 14-08-00498-CR

NO. 14-08-00499-CR

BARNEY JOE DONALSON, JR. AKA DAMON HENRY DOWNS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 185th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause Nos. 437662, 437661, 437660, & 437520

M E M O R A N D U M   O P I N I O N

These are attempted appeals of the order signed by the trial court on March 5, 2008, denying appellant=s application for a post-conviction writ of  habeas corpus.  Appellant filed a pro se notice of appeal on April 14, 2008.  We dismiss these appeals.

Appellant entered pleas of guilty, without a recommendation on punishment, to twelve counts of arson set out in four indictments.  After cumulation of the sentences, he was effectively sentenced to confinement for fifty years in prison.  On direct appeal, this court affirmed his convictions.  See Downs v. State, Nos. C14-86-00339-CR, A14-86-00340-CR,  B14-86-00341-CR, & C14-86-00342-CR, 1987 WL 10549 (Tex. App.CHouston [14th Dist.]  1987, no pet.) (not designated for publication).  According to appellant=s application for writ of habeas corpus, his sentences were discharged on November 20, 2005.  He seeks habeas relief from the collateral consequences of his convictions, citing Ex parte Renier, 734 S.W.2d 349 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987).

We lack jurisdiction over these appeals.  First, this court lacks jurisdiction over post-conviction habeas applications in felony cases.  Courts of appeals have no jurisdiction over postconviction writs of habeas corpus in felony cases. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. ' 11.07, ' 3 (Vernon Supp. 2007);  Board of Pardons and Paroles ex rel. Keene v. Eighth Court of Appeals, 910 S.W.2d 481, 483 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) (holding that jurisdiction to grant postconviction habeas relief lies exclusively with court of criminal appeals).

Moreover, a notice of appeal from the March 5, 2008, order was due within thirty days, or by April 4, 2008. On April 9, 2008, appellant filed a motion complaining that he had not received timely notice of the court=s ruling on his habeas application.  The Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure do not provide a remedy for lack of notice of the court=s judgment or order in criminal cases.  See Tex. R. App. P. 4.2 (setting out procedure where notice of trial court=s judgment in civil cases was not received within twenty days).  The sole remedy in criminal cases is to seek an out-of-time appeal from the Texas Court of Criminal Procedure by application for writ of habeas corpus.  See Ater v. Eighth Court of Appeals, 802 S .W.2d 241 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (explaining that writ of habeas corpus pursuant to article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure governs out‑of‑time appeals in felony cases).

Accordingly, the appeals are ordered dismissed.

PER CURIAM

Judgment rendered and Memorandum Opinion filed June 26, 2008.

Panel consists of Chief Justice Hedges and Justices Fowler and Boyce.

Do Not Publish C Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).