In Re John Davis Bernard Jr. v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 31, 2023
• Docket: 14-23-00623-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Petition for Writ of Mandamus Dismissed and Memorandum Majority and Dissenting Opinions filed August 31, 2023.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-23-00623-CR

IN RE JOHN DAVIS BERNARD, JR., Relator

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 185th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1726657

MEMORANDUM DISSENTING OPINION

On August 15, 2023, this court dismissed a July 7, 2023 filing in which “John Davis Junior: Bernard” petitioned “the Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals” to review actions of the 184th District Court of Harris County in cause number 1726657, which this court treated as a petition for a writ of mandamus. Because the court interpreted the petition as seeking habeas-corpus relief, the court dismissed the petition for want of jurisdiction. In re Bernard, No. 14-23-00472-CR, 2023 WL 5217885 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 15, 2023, orig. proceeding) (mem, op., not designated for publication) (Spain, J., dissenting).

On August 24, 2023, “john davis junior of the Family of Bernard” filed an “Application for Writ of Mandamus” in our case number 14-23-00472-CR, trial court cause number 1726657, which the clerk of this court filed under new case number 14-23-00623-CR. This court has again treated this “application” as a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking habeas-corpus relief.

As I previously did, I agree that it appears we have no jurisdiction. I would give relator notice of an involuntary dismissal and an opportunity to respond before we dismiss.

I respectfully dissent to the lack of due process the court affords to relator.

/s/ Charles A. Spain Justice

Panel consists of Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Spain (Spain, J., dissenting). Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).