Filed: Nov. 30, 2017
Latest Update: Nov. 30, 2017
Summary: ORDER OF DISMISSAL EWING WERLEIN, JR. , District Judge . State prisoner Christopher Handy (TDCJ #774008) is currently confined in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ"). See Docket Entry No. 1. He claims that he is illegally confined pursuant to his conviction in Harris County criminal case number 727971, which was entered in 1997, and seeks a writ of mandamus from this Court to order state officials to act with respect to that conviction. "Federal courts have
Summary: ORDER OF DISMISSAL EWING WERLEIN, JR. , District Judge . State prisoner Christopher Handy (TDCJ #774008) is currently confined in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ"). See Docket Entry No. 1. He claims that he is illegally confined pursuant to his conviction in Harris County criminal case number 727971, which was entered in 1997, and seeks a writ of mandamus from this Court to order state officials to act with respect to that conviction. "Federal courts have n..
More
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
EWING WERLEIN, JR., District Judge.
State prisoner Christopher Handy (TDCJ #774008) is currently confined in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ"). See Docket Entry No. 1. He claims that he is illegally confined pursuant to his conviction in Harris County criminal case number 727971, which was entered in 1997, and seeks a writ of mandamus from this Court to order state officials to act with respect to that conviction.
"Federal courts have no authority `to issue writs of mandamus to direct state courts and their judicial officers in the performance of their duties where mandamus is the only relief sought.'" Conner v. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 481 F. App'x 952, 2012 WL 3032319, at *1 (5th Cir. Jul. 26, 2012) (unpublished op.) (quoting Moye v. Clerk, Dekalb County Superior Court, 474 F.2d 1275, 1276 (5th Cir. 1973)). Handy seeks a writ of mandamus directing the actions of state officials in the performance of their duties, a matter over which this Court lacks jurisdiction. Id. Accordingly, Handy's petition for a writ of mandamus must be dismissed without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
The Court declines to construe this case as a federal habeas petition because (1) Handy specifically styles it as a mandamus action and (2) Handy has previously filed numerous petitions for habeas relief regarding his 1997 convictions and their effects on his present confinement and eligibility for mandatory supervision, which have been dismissed without prejudice as either successive (for the 1997 convictions) or unexhausted (for the 2016 conviction).1
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED that Petitioner's petition for mandamus is DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. It is further
ORDERED that Petitioner's Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Docket Entry No. 2) is DENIED as MOOT.
Petitioner is WARNED that further frivolous filings may subject him to sanctions, including, but not limited to, monetary sanctions and/or a preclusion order barring him from filing civil actions and other petitions in this Court.
The Clerk will enter this Order, providing a correct copy to all parties of record.
