In Re Eric Drake, Relator v. the State of Texas ( 2024 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-24-00287-CR
IN RE ERIC DRAKE, RELATOR
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
September 18, 2024
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before PARKER and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Eric Drake, Relator, seeks a writ of mandamus from this Court directing the
Honorable Judge Tammy Kemp and the assigned, Honorable Judge Michael Snipes to
recuse themselves from Drake’s criminal case pending in the 204th Criminal District Court
for Dallas County. As we are without authority to issue a mandamus against the
respondents, we dismiss the petition for want of jurisdiction.
A court of appeals may issue writs of mandamus against a judge of a district or
county court in its geographic district and may issue writs necessary to enforce its
jurisdiction. TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN. § 22.221(a), (b). Drake has directed his mandamus
petition against judges presiding over a district court which is not located within the
geographic district for the Seventh Court of Appeals. See TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN.
§ 22.201(h) (identifying counties composing the Seventh Court of Appeals District).
Accordingly, we are without authority to issue a writ of mandamus against a judge of the
204th Criminal District Court unless the writ is necessary to enforce our jurisdiction. See
TEX. GOV’T. CODE ANN. § 22.221(a). Drake has not demonstrated that our jurisdiction is
implicated here.
Therefore, we dismiss Drake’s petition for writ of mandamus for want of
jurisdiction.1
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
1 We, likewise, deny Drake’s pending “Relator’s Motion for Temporary Stay” and “Relator’s Motion
for Change of Venue and Transfer” for want of jurisdiction.
2