Lowell Quincy Green v. Lawrence E. Johnson and Stan Schwieger, 10-17-00024-CV

Appellant Lowell Quincy Green filed an original petition in the Tenth Court of Appeals under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against attorneys Lawrence E. Johnson and Stan Schwieger.
The appellate court questioned its jurisdiction because no final judgment or appealable order appeared in the record and notified Green to show grounds for continuing the appeal.
Green argued his aggravated-robbery conviction should be reversed for lack of proof of a deadly weapon and asserted ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel; he has pursued related criminal appeals and postconviction filings unsuccessfully.
The court noted Green has filed numerous similar original petitions in this court and that prior such filings were dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
The court found Green did not demonstrate an appealable final judgment or a statutory basis for an interlocutory appeal, and he conflated the appellate court’s role with that of a trial court for filing original civil claims.
The court dismissed the matter for want of jurisdiction and ordered the clerk to write off unpaid filing fees (without eliminating the underlying debt).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether this Court has jurisdiction over Green’s original § 1983 petition filed in the Court of Appeals	Green contends he may file the § 1983 claims in this court following his criminal conviction	Implied: appellees asserted (through procedural posture) that the appellate court lacks jurisdiction over original petitions that should be filed in trial court	Court held no jurisdiction: original § 1983 petition in this court is improper; appeals lie from final trial-court judgments or statutorily authorized interlocutory orders
Whether there is an appealable final judgment or interlocutory order supporting the appeal	Green relies on his criminal conviction and prior appellate efforts as the basis for relief	Appellate court (and authority) require a final judgment or statutory interlocutory basis for appellate jurisdiction	Court held Green failed to show a final, appealable order; dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction

Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191 (Tex. 2001) (only final judgments and statutorily authorized interlocutory orders are appealable)
Gregory v. Foster, 35 S.W.3d 255 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2000, no pet.) (appeals must be from final decisions)
N.E. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d 893 (Tex. 1966) (finality requirement for appeals)
Aguilar v. Weber, 72 S.W.3d 729 (Tex. App.—Waco 2002, no pet.) (appellate courts’ jurisdiction is limited to the scope of the trial court’s judgment)
Nabejas v. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 972 S.W.2d 875 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1998, no pet.) (limits on appellate jurisdiction relative to trial court)