In Re Reyes

195 S.W.3d 127, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 5568, 2005 WL 1654570

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 13, 2005
• Docket: 10-05-00234-CR
• Status: Published

Opinions

OPINION

BILL VANCE, Justice.

Richard Reyes has filed a Petition for Coram Nobis, which “is a writ of error directed to a court for review of its own judgment and predicated on alleged errors of fact.” Black’s Law Dictionary 362 (8th ed.2004). Reyes also filed a motion for appointment of counsel to represent him.

In 1952, the Court of Criminal Appeals observed:

In the recent case of Ex parte McCune, 156 Tex.Cr.App. 213, 246 S.W.2d 171, we had occasion to adhere to our prior holdings that the common-law writ of coram nobis has no application in this state and that the right to re-open and re-examine a prior final conviction does not exist in this state.

Ex parte Massey, 157 Tex.Crim. 491, 249 S.W.2d 599 (1952); see also Martinez v. State, 419 S.W.2d 369 (Tex.Crim.App.1967) (petition for writ of coram nobis denominated by Court as an application for a writ of habeas corpus).

We find nothing that has changed that rule. We have no authority to entertain a post-conviction application for writ of ha-beas corpus. See Tex.Code Ckim. PRoc. Ann. art. 11.07 (Vernon Supp.2004-2005); Ex parte Geiken, 28 S.W.3d 553 (Tex.Crim. App.2000). Accordingly, Reyes’s petition and this cause are dismissed for want of jurisdiction. In addition, the motion seeking appointment of counsel is dismissed as moot.

Absent a specific exemption, the Clerk of the Court must collect filing fees at the time a document is presented for filing. Tex.R.App. P. 12.1(b); Appendix to Tex. R.App. P., Order Regarding Fees (July 21, 1998); see also Tex.R.App. P. 5; 10th Tf,x. App. (Waco) Loe. R. 6; Tex. Gov’t Code AnN. §§ 51.207(b), 51.901 (Vernon 2005). Under these circumstances, we suspend the rules and order the Clerk to write off all unpaid filing fees in this case. Tex. R.App. P. 2.

Chief Justice GRAY, dissenting.