In Re Christopher W. Harrison v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 208th District Court of Harris County

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

Petition for Writ of Mandamus Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed June 17, 2010. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ___________________ NO. 14-10-00498-CR ___________________ IN RE CHRISTOPHER W. HARRISON, Relator ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS MEMORANDUM OPINION Relator, Christopher W. Harrison, an inmate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who is proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov t Code Ann. § 22.221 (Vernon 2004); see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In his petition, Harrison complains that respondent, the Honorable Denise Collins, has not ruled on his post-conviction writ of habeas corpus filed in the 208th District Court of Harris County in trial court cause number 678421. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 11.07, 11.59 (Vernon 2005 & Supp. 2009). While the courts of appeals have mandamus jurisdiction in criminal matters, only the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction over matters related to final post-conviction felony proceedings. Board of Pardons & Paroles ex rel. Keene v. Court of Appeals for Eighth Dist., 910 S.W.2d 481, 483 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). This court has no authority to issue a writ of mandamus to compel a district court judge to rule on matters seeking post-conviction relief in felony convictions in which the judgment is final. See In re McAfee, 53 S.W.3d 715, 718 (Tex. App. Houston [1st Dist.] 2001, orig. proceeding). Should it be necessary to complain about an action or inaction of the convicting court, the applicant may seek mandamus relief from the Court of Criminal Appeals. Id. at 718. Accordingly, we dismiss Harrison s petition for lack of jurisdiction. PER CURIAM Consists of Justices Brown, Sullivan, and Christopher. Do Not Publish TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.