In Re Tykisha Murphy v. the State of Texas

Opinion

Opinion issued January 22, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-26-00012-CV ——————————— IN RE TYKISHA MURPHY, Relator

Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Relator Tykisha Murphy, a director of Galveston County Drainage District

No. 2, filed an emergency petition for writ of mandamus and injunction and a request

for a temporary restraining order concerning the Galveston County Drainage District

No. 2 and its officials’ failure to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act. 1 We

dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction.

1 According to the petition and appendix, there is no underlying trial court case pending in Galveston County, Texas. Relator contends that this Court has jurisdiction to grant mandamus and

injunctive relief pursuant to Section 551.142(a) of the Texas Government Code.

This section provides: “An interested person, including a member of the news

media, may bring an action by mandamus or injunction to stop, prevent, or reverse

a violation or threatened violation of this chapter by members of a governmental

body.” TEX. GOV’T CODE § 551.142(a). Although no case law has construed this

statute and in which court this action must be filed, we find that it is not the court of

appeals.

A court of appeals has the power to issue writs of mandamus and other writs

as provided by the Texas Government Code. See TEX. GOV’T CODE § 22.221. An

appellate court may issue writs of mandamus and other writs as needed to enforce

our jurisdiction. See TEX. GOV’T CODE § 22.221(a). Furthermore, the statute permits

appellate courts to issue mandamus relief only against judges of district, statutory

county, statutory probate, and county courts in the appellate court’s district. See

TEX. GOV’T CODE § 22.221(b). As an appellate court, we have no power to issue

writs of mandamus or injunction against officials of a county drainage district.

Therefore, we lack jurisdiction to consider this petition.

We dismiss this petition for lack of jurisdiction. Any pending motions are

dismissed as moot.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Guerra, Caughey, and Dokupil. 2