In Re Jonathan Martinez v. the State of Texas

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
• Decided: May 28, 2026
• Docket: 01-26-00037-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued May 28, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-26-00037-CV ——————————— IN RE JONATHAN MARTINEZ, Relator

Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Relator, Jonathan Martinez, filed a petition for writ of mandamus challenging

the trial court’s November 4, 2025 order granting the motion to exclude relator’s

expert witness in the underlying trial court cause, filed by real party in interest,

Micaela Beatrice Garcia.1 In his petition for writ of mandamus, relator asserted that

1 The underlying case is Micaela Beatrice Garcia v. Jonathan Martinez, Cause No. 2024-11582, in the 55th District Court of Harris County, Texas, the Honorable Latosha Lewis Payne presiding. the trial court abused its discretion by excluding his expert witness, and that

mandamus relief was the appropriate remedy to address the trial court’s error.

Relator therefore requested that the Court grant the petition and “order the trial court

to vacate” its November 4, 2025 order excluding relator’s expert witness.

In connection with his petition for writ of mandamus, relator filed a motion

for emergency relief to stay the January 27, 2026 trial setting pending this Court’s

consideration of relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. The Court granted the

motion and stayed trial in the underlying cause pending this Court’s review of the

petition for writ of mandamus. The Court further requested a response to the petition

for writ of mandamus, and real party in interest filed a response in opposition to the

request for mandamus relief. Relator further filed a reply in support of his request

for mandamus relief.

We conclude that relator has failed to establish he is entitled to mandamus

relief, and the Court, therefore, lifts the stay imposed by our January 14, 2026 order

and denies relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. We dismiss any pending motions

as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Rivas-Molloy, Johnson, and Dokupil.