Ex Parte William S. Chase, Jr.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: April 7, 2005
• Docket: 07-05-00120-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

NO. 07-05-0120-CR

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

AT AMARILLO

PANEL D

APRIL 7, 2005

______________________________

Ex parte WILLIAM S. CHASE, JR.,

Appellant

_________________________________

FROM THE 154^TH DISTRICT COURT OF LAMB COUNTY;

NO. 16,511; HON. FELIX KLEIN, PRESIDING _______________________________

Order of Dismissal _______________________________

Before QUINN, REAVIS, and CAMPBELL, JJ.

William S. Chase, Jr. appeals from an order dismissing his application for writ of habeas corpus. The writ was sought to obtain release from the purported restraint of Bruce Peel, mayor of Littlefield, Texas. Peel had moved for dismissal, contending that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over the proceedings. The trial court granted the motion. We now dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

One may not appeal from an order denying a writ of habeas corpus unless the order arose after a hearing on the merits and the trial court denied the application on the merits. Ex parte Hargett, 819 S.W.2d 866, 868 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). Next, granting a motion to dismiss due to the absence of jurisdiction is not a ruling on the merits. See Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 554 (Tex. 2000); see also City of Lubbock v. Rule, 68 S.W.3d 853, 857 (Tex. App.-Amarillo 2002, no pet.). So because the trial court dismissed the appeal due to the lack of jurisdiction, we ourselves have no jurisdiction over the appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

Brian Quinn

Justice

Do not publish.

shall set bail after a petition for discretionary review has been filed. ⁽¹⁾ See id. Accordingly, Antonio Schmidt's motion to set bail is overruled.

It is so ordered.

Don H. Reavis

1. We note that appellant requested bail be set by the Court of Criminal Appeals, but filed the motion in this Court.