in Re Shannon Mark Douthit ( 2012 )

IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-12-00121-CV
IN RE SHANNON MARK DOUTHIT
Original Proceeding
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Shannon Mark Douthit presents his petition for writ of mandamus requesting
this Court to compel the Honorable Trent Farrell, Judge of the 52nd District Court in
Coryell County, Texas to rule on certain motions and on Douthit’s underlying civil case.
There are procedural problems with Douthit’s petition but we use Rule 2 to look
beyond those problems and proceed to the merits of the petition. TEX. R. APP. P. 2.
Douthit complains that the respondent has not ruled on four motions which
Douthit has filed and has not ruled on Douthit’s underlying civil cases. Douthit
indicated in his petition that after a telephonic hearing, two of the motions were denied
and the other two were reset for a later, undetermined time. Although the need to
consider and rule on a properly filed and presented document is not a discretionary act
but a ministerial one, a trial court is allowed a reasonable time within which to perform
that act. In re Chavez, 62 S.W.3d 225, 228-229 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2001, orig.
proceeding).
However, none of these motions were included in the record for this petition,
and Douthit presented no record that he has requested the hearing on the remaining
two motions to be set. Further, it also appears from Douthit’s petition that the
underlying civil case was placed on the dismissal docket in March of this year. Douthit
has presented nothing to indicate that the underlying case was either retained or
dismissed. Douthit bears the burden of providing this Court with a sufficient record to
establish his right to mandamus relief. See In re Samuelson, No. 10-11-00460-CR, 2012
Tex. App. LEXIS 90 (Tex. App.—Waco Jan. 4, 2012, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.); In re
Mullins, 10-09-00143-CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 7285, at *2, n.1 (Tex. App.—Waco Sept.
16, 2009, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.); In re Blakeney, 254 S.W.3d 659, 661 (Tex. App.—
Texarkana 2008, orig. proceeding). Because he has not done so, his petition is denied.
Douthit also presented for filing with this Court a declaration of indigence with
his petition for writ of mandamus. Under the circumstance of this case, we again use
Rule 2 and grant Douthit‘s request to proceed without the advance payment of cost.
TEX. R. APP. P. 2. Allowing Douthit to proceed without the advance payment of cost in
no way eliminates or reduces the fees owed.
TOM GRAY
Chief Justice
In re Douthit Page 2
Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Scoggins
Petition denied
Opinion delivered and filed May 2, 2012
[OT06]
In re Douthit Page 3