Ex Parte Cedric Dewayne McNeal v. the State of Texas

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-23-00079-CR No. 07-23-00080-CR No. 07-23-00081-CR No. 07-23-00082-CR

EX PARTE CEDRIC DEWAYNE MCNEAL

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ON APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

March 15, 2023 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Cedric Dewayne McNeal, proceeding pro se, filed four “petitions” with this Court

seeking post-conviction relief from his four final felony convictions. We construe the

documents as applications for writs of habeas corpus and dismiss them for want of

jurisdiction.

Intermediate courts of appeals do not have 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 cases); Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d

586, 588-89 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1994, orig. proceeding) (per curiam). That jurisdiction instead rests with the Court of Criminal Appeals, the district courts, and the county courts.

See 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 felony

cases. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3(a); Ex parte Alexander, 685

S.W.2d 57, 60 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985).

For these reasons, we dismiss McNeal’s applications for writs of habeas corpus

for want of jurisdiction. 1

Per Curiam

Do not publish.

1 McNeal may be entitled to habeas relief by filing an application for writ of habeas corpus with the

clerk of the court in which the conviction being challenged was obtained, returnable to the Court of Criminal Appeals. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07. 2