in Re Nathaniel Jones III , 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 5375 ( 2015 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
_________________
NO. 09-15-00129-CV
_________________
IN RE NATHANIEL JONES III
________________________________________________________________________
Original Proceeding
________________________________________________________________________
OPINION
Nathaniel Jones III filed a petition for writ of mandamus and a declaration
stating that he is unable to pay costs. Jones complains in his petition that the judge
of the 172nd District Court of Jefferson County, Texas will not rule on a motion
that he filed in that court. From the sparse information that Jones provides in his
petition, we are unable to identify the cause number assigned by the District Clerk
to the matter or determine if Jones has taken any action to bring the motion he
claims he filed to the trial court’s attention.
On April 16, 2015, we notified Jones that his petition failed to include a
declaration that identified all of the prior lawsuits that he had filed, and that he also
1
failed to provide the Court with a certified copy of his trust account statement.
Both of these documents are required to accompany suits filed by inmates when
they file unsworn declarations stating they are unable to pay costs. See Tex. Civ.
Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 14.003 (West 2002), § 14.004 (West Supp. 2014).
Because the information in Jones’s petition does not comply with the requirements
of the Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Clerk sent Jones a letter notifying him of
the numerous deficiencies with his petition for mandamus. The Clerk notified
Jones of the deadline by which he was required to correct the deficiencies in his
petition. See generally Tex. R. App. P. 9.5; see also Tex. R. App. P. 10.1(a),
52.3(a), 52.7. The Clerk’s letter warns Jones that if the deficiencies with his
petition were not corrected, his original proceeding for writ of mandamus would be
dismissed as frivolous. Jones did not file a response to the letter the Clerk sent him
by the deadline he was given. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(c).
The provisions in Chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code
apply to original mandamus proceedings filed with appellate courts. See In re
Price, No. 07-15-00137-CV, 2015 WL 1883924, at *1 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Apr.
23, 2015, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.); see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code
Ann. § 14.002 (West Supp. 2014). An inmate’s failure to comply with an appellate
court’s notice justifies a conclusion that the inmate’s petition is frivolous. See In re
2
Kennedy, No. 12-15-00026-CV, 2015 WL 455752, at *1 (Tex. App.—Tyler Jan.
30, 2015, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.). Because Jones did not file an affidavit or
declaration identifying his previous filings, his petition for writ of mandamus is
dismissed as frivolous. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 14.003(a)(2).
PETITION DISMISSED.
PER CURIAM
Submitted on May 27, 2015
Opinion Delivered May 28, 2015
Before Kreger, Horton, and Johnson, JJ.
3