in Re Robert Brown III

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-14-00696-CV
In re Robert Brown III
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING FROM TRAVIS COUNTY
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator, Robert Brown III, an inmate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, has
filed an original petition for writ of mandamus asking this Court to compel the Texas Department
of Family and Protective Services to comply with a request he made under the Texas Public
Information Act (TPIA).1
This Court has no original mandamus jurisdiction under the TPIA. Instead, the
Legislature has vested jurisdiction for Brown’s claim in the district courts of Travis County.2
Accordingly, we deny Brown’s petition for writ of mandamus.3
1
See Tex. Gov’t Code §§ 552.001-.353.
2
See id. § 552.321(b) (“A suit filed by a requestor [seeking mandamus relief under the
TPIA] must be filed in a district court for the county in which the main offices of the governmental
body are located.”); In re Turner, 998 S.W.2d 935, 935 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999,
orig. proceeding) (per curiam) (holding court of appeals lacked original mandamus jurisdiction
under the TPIA); Garner v. Gately, 909 S.W.2d 61, 62 (Tex. App.—Waco 1995, orig. proceeding)
(per curiam) (same).
3
See Tex R. App. P. 52.8(a).
__________________________________________
Bob Pemberton, Justice
Before Justices Puryear, Pemberton, and Field
Filed: November 7, 2014
2