In re James Nolan III Appeal from 122nd District Court of Galveston County (memorandum opinion per curiam)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed November 16, 2021. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals NO. 14-21-00606-CR IN RE JAMES NOLAN III, Relator ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 122nd District Court Galveston County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 21CR1899 MEMORANDUM OPINION On October 25, 2021, relator James Nolan III filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this Court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this Court to compel the Honorable John Ellisor, presiding judge of the 122nd District Court of Galveston County, to grant relator an examining trial. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 16.01. In his petition, relator asserts that he “has filed timely requests for examining trial, but the trial court has ignored” his requests and “indicted [relator] on, 29th of July, 2021.” Relator contends this violated his constitutional rights. A defendant’s right to an examining trial is ended by the return of an indictment. State ex rel. Holmes v. Salinas, 784 S.W.2d 421, 427 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990); see also In re Richardson, No. 14-04-00713, 2004 WL 1797589, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 12, 2004, orig. proceeding). “Due process considerations are not implicated since the primary purpose for the examining trial, a determination of probable cause, is at least as timely accomplished by presenting evidence directly to the grand jury.” Salinas, 784 S.W.2d at 427. Relator has not established that he is entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, we deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Zimmerer. Do Not Publish — Tex.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.