Williams, Robert Dion ( 2015 )

April27, 2015
Mr. Abel Acosta, Clerk
Court of Criminal Appeals
it+
P.O. Box 12308
Austin, Texas 78711-2308
Re: Ex parte Robert Dian Williams, Case No. 1099166-A (In the 183rd Judicial District Court
ofHarris County, Texas). ·
~ Motion for Leave to File Original Writ ofMandamus
Dear Clerk:
Enclosed please find the original copy of Applicant William's Original Motion for Leave of the
Court file his Original Writ of Mandamus with Brief in Support, to be filed among the papers in
the above-styled and numbered cause.
Please notify Applicant at his address listed below of the date of filing and disposition of these
proceedings. By copy of this letter, I am forwarding a true and correct copy of this instrument to
the Respondent.
Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
RECEIVED IN
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
~AY 08 2015
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas 77351-8580
Enclosure
Cc: The Honorable Judge Vanessa Velasquez
File
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WRIT NUMBER: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
(Trial Case No. Case Number: 1099166-A)
ROBERT DION WILLIAMS, § IN
TDCJ-CID#01609751, Relator, Pro se,
§
§ THE
v. §
§ COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
THE HONRABLE VANESSA §
VELASQUEZ ACTING IN HER § AUSTIN, TEXAS
OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS JUDGE §
OF THE 183RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT §
COURT OF HARRIS COUNTY TEXAS,§
Respondent. §
APPLICANT WILLIAM'S ORIGINAL MOTION FOR LEAVE OF THE COURT
TO FILE WRIT OF MANDAMUS WITH BRIEF IN SUPPORT
TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS:
COMES NOW, Robert D. Williams, TDCJ-CID#01609751, Relator, prose, in
the above-styled and numbered cause and files this, his Original Motion for Leave of the
Court to File Writ of Mandamus with Brief in Support, pursuant to Article 11.07, Section
3(C) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and in support thereof, would respectfully
show the Court as follows:
.I.
Relator
1. Robert D. Williams, TDCJ-CID#O 1609751, is an offender incarcerated in the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division ("TDCJ-CID"),
and is appearing prose, and can be located at the Polunsky Unit, 3872 FM 350 South,
Livingston, Polk County, Texas, 77351.
Williams Writ of Mandamus
2. Relator has exhausted all his remedies and has no other adequate remedy at law.
3. Relator filed his original Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus on March 11,
2013, 1 with the Chris Daniel, District Clerk of Harris County. Texas law requires the
clerk of the district court to serve a copy of the instant writ application upon the district
attorney within 15 days of Applicant filing his writ of habeas corpus application. After
the expiration of the time allowed for the State to respond has passed, the trial court is
allowed 20 days to determine whether the application contains allegations of
controverted, previously unresolved facts material to the legality of the applicant's
confinement exist. Art. 11.07, §3(c). If the trial court determines that the application for
writ of habeas corpus presents such issues it "shall enter an order within 20 days of the
expiration of the time allowed for the state to reply, designating issues of fact to be
resolved." !d. In the present case, the trial court designated issues on March 23, 2013.
Since that time more than thirteen (13) months have elapsed without the trial court
transmitting Relator's application seeking habeas corpus to this Court for final
disposition.
4. The act sought to be compelled is ministerial, not discretionary in nature. The
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 11.07 Section 3(c) requires Respondent to
immediately transmit to the Court of Criminal Appeals a copy of the application for writ
of habeas corpus, any answers filed, and a certificate reciting the date upon which that
finding was made, if the convicting court decides that there are no issues to be resolved.
No copy of the application for writ of habeas corpus, any answers filed, and a certificate
reciting the date upon which that finding was made and transmitted to the Court of
1
See Appendix A, copy of notification from the Clerk of Harris County that Applicant's original
application for writ of habeas corpus was filed on March II, 2013.
Williams Writ of Mandamus 2
Criminal Appeals. Had Respondent directed such documents be transmitted to the Court
of Criminal Appeals as required statute, Relator would have received notice from this
Court. Petitioner avers that while the trial court did in fact designate issues requiring
resolution, the writ of habeas corpus application has been pending in the trial court for
approximately thirteen (13) months since that time, which is inherently unreasonable.
II.
RESPONDENT
5. Respondent, the Honorable Vanessa Velasquez, acting in her official capacity as
Judge of the 183rd Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, has a ministerial duty
to resolve issues she designates as requiring resolution by all customary means in a
timely manner, as the Great Writ is one of expediency so as to avoid innocent citizens
from languishing in prison needlessly. Judge Vanessa Velasquez, presiding judge of the
183rd Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, may be served at her place of
business at: Judge Vanessa Velasquez, presiding Judge of the 183rct Judicial District
Court of Harris County, Texas, Harris County Criminal Justice Center, 1201 Franklin,
18th Floor, Houston, Texas, 77002.
III.
Violation of Article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
3. The Respondent violated Article 11 07 Section 3(c) of the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure by failing to provide a copy of the application for writ of habeas
corpus, any answers filed, and a certificate reciting the date upon which that finding was
Williams Writ of Mandamus 3
made to the Court of Criminal Appeals within the time prescribed by law and within a
reasonable time from the date on which the documents were requested to be transmitted.
4. Numerous requests for the transmittal of the application for writ of habeas corpus,
any answers filed, and a certificate reciting the date upon which that finding were made
have gone unanswered. Applicant/Relator made requests in Ex parte Robert Dian
Williams, No. 1099166-A, to the Honorable Vanessa Velasquez, Presiding Judge of the
183 rd Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas to no avail.
5. To date, Relator has received no response from Respondent regarding Relator's
request for transmittal of a copy of the application for writ of habeas corpus, any answers
filed, and a certificate reciting the date upon which that finding was made to the Court of
Criminal Appeals.
6. As is clear from the record before the Court, Relator has repeatedly put
Respondent on notice that Relator seeks the copy of the application for writ of habeas
corpus, any answers filed, and reciting the date upon which that finding was made to the
Court of Criminal and that such records are required by the Court of Criminal Appeals to
act on Relator's writ of habeas corpus. Relator has gone well beyond any requirement or
obligations imposed upon him by the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. In contrast to
Relator's efforts, Respondent has wholly failed to comply with the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure, Article 11.07 Section 3(c), and '~S acting in bad faith, and has also
failed to afford Relator the professional and common courtesy of any written responses to
his correspondence and requests.
7. Article 11.07 Section 3(c) clearly was promulgated to ensure the writ be one of
expedience, not to be placed on the back burner of the trial court's docket indefinitely.
Williams Writ of Mandamus 4
IV.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Relator, Robert Dion Williams,
TDCJ-CID#O 1609751, proceeding in pro se, respectfully requests a finding that the
Respondent has not resolved the issues designated for resolution or if Respondent has
done so, she has wholly failed to direct the clerk of the court to transmit documents to the
Court of Criminal Appeals within a reasonable time after the date the issues in question
were resolved, that Relator brought this litigation in good faith and has substantially
prevailed. Relator prays for an Order directing Respondent to direct the clerk of the trial
court to transmit a copy of the application for writ of habeas corpus, any answers filed,
and a certificate reciting the date upon which that finding was made to the Court of
Criminal Appeals as directed in Article 11.07, Section 3(c) ofthe Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas 77351-8580
Williams Writ of Mandamus 5
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Robert D. Williams, TDCJ-CID#01609751 Relator, prose, herein certify, that I
have sent a true and correct copy of this instrument to the Respondent, by placing same,
in a U.S. mail box, first-class, postage paid, addressed to:
Judge Vanessa Velasquez
Presiding Judge, 183rd Judicial District Court
Harris County, Texas
P.O. Box 4651
Houston, Texas 77210
SIGNED on this the 2ih day of April2015.
Williams Writ of Mandamus 6
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APPENDIX
A
Williams Writ of Mandamus 7
CHRIS DANIEL
HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT CLERK
l\·1arch 11, 2013
ROBERT DION WILLIAMS
#1609751 POLUNSKY lJNIT
3872 FM 350 SOUTH
LIVINGSTON, TEXAS 77351-8580
RE: CAUSE #1099166-A
I 83rd District Court
Dear Applicant:
Your post conviction application for Writ of Habeas Corpus was received and filed on 09-07-12.
Article 11.07 of the T cxas code of Criminal Procedure affords the State 15 days in which to
answer the application after having been served with said application. After the 15 days allowed
the State to answer the application, the Court has 20 days in which it may order the designation
of issues to be resolved, if any. If the Court has not entered an order designating issues to be
resolved within 35 days after the State having been served with the application, the application
will be forwarded to the Court of Criminal Appeals for their consideration pursuant to Article
11.07, Sec. 3 (c) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
The records ofthe office reflect the following:
CAUSE NO. PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISPOSITION
All future correspondence should indicate the above listed cause number.
Leslie Gar~a, eputy
Criminal P&st T al
'-/
CC: District Attorney
Judge, Presiding Court
1201 fRANKLIN • P.O. 130X 4651 • HOIJSTO:-!, TEXAS 77210-4651 • {888) 545-5577
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