Ex Parte Stephen Wayne Richardson ( 2022 )

Fourth Court of Appeals
San Antonio, Texas
MEMORANDUM OPINION
No. 04-22-00636-CR
EX PARTE Stephen Wayne RICHARDSON
From the 399th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2010-CR-10629
Honorable Juanita A. Vasquez-Gardner, Judge Presiding
PER CURIAM
Sitting: Beth Watkins, Justice
Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice
Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice
Delivered and Filed: November 9, 2022
DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION
On June 11, 2012, appellant Stephen Wayne Richardson was convicted of manslaughter, a
second-degree felony. See TEX. PEN. CODE ANN. § 19.04; Richardson v. State, No. 04-12-00379-
CV, 2013 WL 5653400, at *1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Oct. 16, 2013, no pet.) (mem. op., not
designated for publication). Appellant timely appealed the trial court’s judgment, and we affirmed
his conviction in 2013. See Richardson, 2013 WL 5653400, at *1–3. Appellant’s conviction is
final. See In re Richardson, No. 04-22-00065-CR, 2022 WL 465405, at *1 (Tex. App.—San
Antonio Feb. 16, 2022, orig. proceeding) (mem. op., not designated for publication).
On September 26, 2022, appellant filed a pro se “Motion for Appeal” that appears to
challenge “the State’s response to Applicant’s[/]Relator’s Petition for Applicant’s for Habeas
Corpus (No Indictment & No 180 day Trial).” The clerk’s record, which was filed on October 4,
04-22-00636-CR
2022, contains the judgment of conviction signed on June 11, 2012, but it does not contain any
other judgments. The record also does not contain a document entitled “Applicant’s[/]Relator’s
Petition for Applicant’s for Habeas Corpus (No Indictment & No 180 day Trial)” or any response
to or ruling on such a document.
In general, we have jurisdiction to consider an appeal in a criminal case only when the trial
court has signed a judgment of conviction or other appealable order. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2);
Apolinar v. State, 820 S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). A defendant’s notice of appeal
must be filed within thirty days after an appealable order has been signed when a motion for new
trial has not been filed, or within ninety days if a motion for new trial has been filed. TEX. R. APP.
P. 26.2. Additionally, under the exclusive procedure outlined in article 11.07, only the convicting
trial court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have jurisdiction to review the merits of a
post-conviction habeas petition; there is no role for the intermediate courts of appeals in the
statutory scheme. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 5 (providing “[a]fter conviction the
procedure outlined in this Act shall be exclusive and any other proceeding shall be void and of no
force and effect in discharging the prisoner”). Only the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has
jurisdiction to grant post-conviction release from confinement for persons with a felony
conviction. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3; Hoang v. State, 872 S.W.2d 694, 697
(Tex. Crim. App. 1993); In re Stone, 26 S.W.3d 568, 569 (Tex. App.—Waco 2000, orig.
proceeding). The intermediate courts of appeals have no jurisdiction over post-conviction writs of
habeas corpus in felony cases. Bd. of Pardons & Paroles ex rel. Keene v. Court of Appeals for the
Eighth District, 910 S.W.2d 481, 483 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) (orig. proceeding); see In re
Coronado, 980 S.W.2d 691, 692 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1998, orig. proceeding); Ex parte Ngo,
No. 02-16-00425-CR, 2016 WL 7405836, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 22, 2016) (mem.
op., not designated for publication) (appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction).
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04-22-00636-CR
On October 6, 2022, we issued an order explaining that the clerk’s record did not appear
to contain an appealable order for which appellant may timely file a notice of appeal in this court.
We therefore ordered appellant to file a response showing why this appeal should not be dismissed
for want of jurisdiction by November 7, 2022. In our order, we stated that if appellant failed to
satisfactorily respond within the time provided, we would dismiss the appeal for want of
jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c).
On October 28, 2022, appellant’s appointed counsel filed a letter stating that he had
reviewed the record and “cannot locate any appealable order for which Appellant may timely file
a notice of appeal in this court.” We therefore dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM
DO NOT PUBLISH
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