Ex Parte Freddie Gonzales v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 13, 2024
• Docket: 07-24-00193-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-24-00193-CR

EX PARTE FREDDIE GONZALES

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING

June 13, 2024 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and DOSS, JJ.

Freddie Gonzales, proceeding pro se, filed a document with this Court asserting

that he is being restrained in the Lubbock County Detention Center, awaiting trial for

pending criminal charges, in violation of his constitutional and civil rights. We have

construed the document as requesting pretrial habeas relief.

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. arts. 11.05, 11.08, 11.09; Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d

at 588.

Consequently, we dismiss Gonzales application for writ of habeas corpus for want

of jurisdiction. 1

Per Curiam

Do not publish.

1 In the document, Gonzales also claims he has been wrongly denied substitution of appointed

counsel. To the extent, Gonzales seeks mandamus relief, we note that his filing fails to meet the requirements of a petition for writ of mandamus as, inter alia, he does not provide a mandamus record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.3 (delineating the required form and contents for a petition for writ of mandamus), 52.7 (requiring relator to file a certified or sworn copy of every document material to the claim for relief that was filed in the underlying proceeding). Without a mandamus record, we cannot determine whether mandamus relief is warranted. See In re H.E.B. Grocery Co., L.P., 492 S.W.3d 300, 302 (Tex. 2016) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam) (“Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy granted only when the relator shows that the trial court abused its discretion and that no adequate appellate remedy exists.”). 2