In Re Jeffrey D. Westbrook--Appeal from 60th District Court of Jefferson County

In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
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NO. 09-03-294 CV
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IN RE JEFFREY D. WESTBROOK
Original Proceeding
MEMORANDUM OPINION (1)

Jeffrey D. Westbrook, an inmate confined in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, seeks a writ of mandamus to compel the Honorable Judge Gary Sanderson, Judge of the 60th District Court, to order the district clerk to issue citation to nineteen defendants without his having furnished the clerk with a sufficient number of copies of his pleading for use in serving the defendants. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 99. Relator contends that he is indigent and that the clerk should prepare the copies free of cost. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 145(1). Because issuance of citation implicates the trial court's jurisdiction, the district court, not the appellate court, may issue a writ of mandamus to compel the district clerk to issue citation. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. 24.011 (Vernon 1988), compare Tex. Gov't Code Ann. 22.221 (Vernon Supp. 2003). Although Westbrook does ask this Court to issue the writ against the trial judge, he has not shown that he first sought the appropriate relief from the trial court.

The petition for writ of mandamus, filed June 27, 2003, is DENIED.

PER CURIAM

Opinion Delivered July 10, 2003

Before McKeithen, C.J., Burgess and Gaultney, JJ.

1. Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.