In Re Eric Drake, Relator v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: September 18, 2024
• Docket: 07-24-00287-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-24-00287-CR

IN RE ERIC DRAKE, RELATOR

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING

September 18, 2024 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before PARKER and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Eric Drake, Relator, seeks a writ of mandamus from this Court directing the

Honorable Judge Tammy Kemp and the assigned, Honorable Judge Michael Snipes to

recuse themselves from Drake’s criminal case pending in the 204th Criminal District Court

for Dallas County. As we are without authority to issue a mandamus against the

respondents, we dismiss the petition for want of jurisdiction.

A court of appeals may issue writs of mandamus against a judge of a district or

county court in its geographic district and may issue writs necessary to enforce its

jurisdiction. TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN. § 22.221(a), (b). Drake has directed his mandamus

petition against judges presiding over a district court which is not located within the

geographic district for the Seventh Court of Appeals. See TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN. § 22.201(h) (identifying counties composing the Seventh Court of Appeals District).

Accordingly, we are without authority to issue a writ of mandamus against a judge of the

204th Criminal District Court unless the writ is necessary to enforce our jurisdiction. See

TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN. § 22.221(a). Drake has not demonstrated that our jurisdiction is

implicated here.

Therefore, we dismiss Drake’s petition for writ of mandamus for want of

jurisdiction.1

Per Curiam

Do not publish.

1 We, likewise, deny Drake’s pending “Relator’s Motion for Temporary Stay” and “Relator’s Motion

for Change of Venue and Transfer” for want of jurisdiction. 2