In Re Edward J. Manel v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 26, 2023
• Docket: 09-23-00228-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

__________________

NO. 09-23-00228-CR __________________

IN RE EDWARD J. MANEL

__________________________________________________________________

Original Proceeding Criminal District Court of Jefferson County, Texas Trial Cause No. 22-41181 __________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Relator Edward J. Manel filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to compel

the trial court to “apply texas law Article 17.151 texas code of criminal procedure to

the charge of Burglary of Habitation”. We deny mandamus relief. 1

1 Relator failed to support his mandamus petition with an appendix containing “a certified or sworn copy of any order complained of, or any other document showing the matter complained of.” Tex. R. App. P. 52.3(k)(1)(A). Relator additionally failed to certify that he served a copy of the mandamus petition on the Respondent and the Real Party in Interest. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.5. Here, we exercise our discretion under Rule 2, to look beyond these deficiencies to reach an expeditious result. See Tex. R. App. P. 2.

1 “Mandamus relief may be granted if a relator shows that: (1) the act sought to

be compelled is purely ministerial, and (2) there is no adequate remedy at law.” In

re McCann, 422 S.W.3d 701, 704 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (orig. proceeding). To

obtain relief on a mandamus petition, the petitioner must show that he has a clear

legal right to the act that he is seeking to compel. Id.

Manel states that he was arrested for burglary of a habitation on November 6,

2022, and “went to court for announcement plea and put a not guilty plea” on a date

more than 90 days after he was arrested. Other than this bare statement, Manel

provides no information about what transpired in the trial court. Manel has not

shown that he asked the trial court to release him either on personal bond or by

reducing the amount of bail required. See generally Tex. Code. Crim. Proc. Ann. art.

17.151. Manel has not shown that he filed a motion to reduce bail or applied for a

pre-trial writ of habeas corpus, and he presents no argument or authority to support

imposing a ministerial duty on the trial court when the detained person has not

requested that he be released because of delay. See id. Accordingly, we deny the

petition for a writ of mandamus. See Tex. R. App. P. 52.8(a).

PETITION DENIED.

PER CURIAM Submitted on July 25, 2023 Opinion Delivered July 26, 2023 Do Not Publish

Before Horton, Johnson and Wright, JJ. 2