in Re Gerald J. Durden

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 24, 2012
• Docket: 14-11-01099-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Petition for Writ of Mandamus Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed January 24, 2012.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-11-01099-CR ____________

IN RE GERALD J. DURDEN, Relator

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 248th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 905464

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On December 22, 2011, relator, Gerald J. Durden, filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov=t Code ' 22.221. Relator asked this court to direct the Honorable Chris Daniel, Harris County District Clerk, to forward to this court a notice of appeal that was mailed on or about July 14, 2011. Relator seeks to appeal the denial of his motion for post-conviction DNA testing. He also requests a copy of the trial record. Relator included with his petition a copy of the notice of appeal and the certified mail receipt showing that the notice of appeal was received on July 18, 2011. This court’s mandamus jurisdiction is governed by section 22.221 of the Texas Government Code. Section 22.221 expressly limits the mandamus jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to: (1) writs against a district court judge or county court judge in the court of appeals’ district, and (2) all writs necessary to enforce the court of appeals’ jurisdiction. Tex. Gov’t Code § 22.221.

This court has mandamus jurisdiction over a district clerk when it is necessary to enforce our jurisdiction. See In re Washington, 7 S.W.3d 181, 182 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.). Because the relief sought in the petition for writ of mandamus is necessary to enforce this court’s jurisdiction over relator’s appeal, we have jurisdiction to grant the requested relief. See Tex. Gov’t Code § 22.221(b)(1).

On January 4, 2012, the Harris County District Clerk’s office forwarded the notice of appeal and letter of assignment to this court, and the appeal has been docketed under our appellate case number 14-12-00006-CR. In addition, the District Clerk’s office provided a copy of a letter to relator forwarding copies of the trial record to him. Therefore, the issues in relator’s petition for writ of mandamus have been rendered moot.

Accordingly, we order relator’s petition for writ of mandamus dismissed.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Chief Justice Hedges and Justices Boyce and Christopher. Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).