Ex Parte Allen Bell

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: September 30, 2021
• Docket: 07-21-00206-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-21-00206-CR

EX PARTE ALLEN LEE BELL

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ON APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

September 30, 2021 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before PIRTLE and PARKER and DOSS, JJ.

Appearing pro se, Allen Lee Bell, filed an “application seeking relief from a final

felony conviction and false imprisonment.” We have construed the document as an

application for writ of habeas corpus in a criminal case.1

This Court has no original habeas corpus jurisdiction in criminal law matters. See

TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 22.221(d) (limiting original habeas jurisdiction of intermediate

appellate courts to civil matters); Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d 586, 588 (Tex. App.—El

Paso 1994, orig. proceeding) (per curiam). That jurisdiction instead rests with the Court

1 We previously affirmed Bell’s conviction for sexual assault in Bell v. State, No. 07-08-00329-CR, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 711, at *2 (Tex. App. — Amarillo Feb. 3, 2009, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication). of Criminal Appeals, the district courts, and the county courts. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC.

ANN. ART. 11.05; Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d at 588. Only the Court of Criminal

Appeals has authority to grant post-conviction habeas relief in final felony cases. See

TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07; Ex parte Alexander, 685 S.W.2d 57, 60 (Tex.

Crim. App. 1985).

For these reasons, we dismiss Bell’s application for writ of habeas corpus for want

of jurisdiction.

Per Curiam

Do not publish.