OPINION
Relator, Martin Borunda, has filed a mandamus petition against the Honorable Roy Ferguson, Judge of the 394th District Court of Presidio County, Texas, asking that the Court order him to set aside an
FACTUAL SUMMARY
On January 2, 2014, Borunda was charged with speeding (80/70) in Presidio County. Borunda entered a plea of guilty on March 18, 2014, and the Justice Court found Borunda guilty and assessed a fíne of «$400.
The State later filed an Application for Writ of Procedendo asserting that Borun-da’s appeal to the county court was not perfected because it was not timely filed.
Borunda sought to appeal the order dismissing the mandamus petition, but the Court dismissed the appeal for lack of
MANDAMUS JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURT
In his sole issue, Borunda asserts that the District Court erred by concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the mandamus petition.
The Standard of Review
To be entitled to mandamus relief, the relator must make two showings: (1) that he has no adequate remedy at law; and (2) that what he seeks to compel is a ministerial act. In re State ex rel. Weeks,
Adequate Remedy by Appeal
The first issue is whether Borun-da had an adequate remedy by appeal. In determining whether it had jurisdiction of the- appeal, the Court’s opinion in Borun-da’s direct appeal focused on the nature of the underlying criminal case, In re Borunda,
Clear Right to Relief
The second question is whether Bo-runda has a clear right to relief. The Texas Constitution and the Texas Government Code establish the jurisdiction of the district courts. Article V, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution provides that:
District court jurisdiction consists of exclusive, appellate,' and original jurisdiction of all actions, proceedings, and remedies, except in cases where exclusive, appellate, or original jurisdiction may be conferred by this Constitution or other law on some other court, tribunal, or administrative body. District Court judges shall have the power to issue•writs necessary to enforce their jurisdiction.
TEX.OONST. art. V, § 8.
Section 24.011 of the Texas Government Code provides:
A judge of a district court may, either in termtime or vacation, grant writs of mandamus, injunction, sequestration, attachment, garnishment, certiorari, and supersedeas and all other writs necessary to the enforcement of the court’s jurisdiction.
Tex. Gov’t Code Ann.- § 24.011 (West 2004).
These provisions certainly grant á district court jurisdiction to issue writs necessary to enforce its jurisdiction, but it is less clear whether a district court has jurisdiction to issue writs against county courts, justice courts, or municipal courts in order to exercise general supervision and control over actions by those courts in criminal cases. See Thompson v. Velasquez,
There is some support in the case law for Respondent’s conclusion that he lacked jurisdiction to issue the writ of mandamus against the county court because courts have stated that a district court’s mandamus jurisdiction is limited to enforcing its own jurisdiction. For example, in Martinez v. Thaler,
Martinez cited Winfrey v. Chandler,
A district court is not authorized to exercise general supervision and control over the county court in criminal proceedings, and its power to interfere with the orderly dispatch of such business by the latter tribunal is limited to that conferred by the Constitution and statutes of our State. Art. 5, Sec. 8, of the Constitution, Vernon’s Ann. St., provides that the district courts ‘shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction and certiorari, and all writs necessary to enforce their jurisdiction.’ The applicable statute, in so far as it is relevant here, follows the language of the Constitution. Art.1914, Vernon’s Ann. Tex. Civ. Stat. Under these constitutional and statutory' provisions, a district court has no power to stay the trial of a criminal case pending in another court except where necessary and appropriate to protect or enforce its own jurisdiction. See Seele v. State, 1 Tex. Civ.App. 495,20 S.W. 946 (no writ)....
Winfrey,
Similarly, in Seele, the court of civil appeals held that a district court did not have
The San Antonio Court of Appeals analyzed whether the district courts have general mandamus jurisdiction in Thompson v. Velasquez,
In Grimm v. Garner,
District courts are empowered by the Texas Constitution to ‘issue writs of ha-beas corpus, mandamus, injunction, and certiorari, and all writs necessary to enforce their jurisdiction.... ’ Tex.Const. art. V, § 8. We have interpreted that power to be a grant of distinct jurisdiction, carrying the substantive power to issue the writs named in all cases in which courts of law or equity under settled rules would have the power to issue them, whether they be necessary to enforce some jurisdiction given by other constitutional provisions or not.
Grimm,
Based on Grimm, the San Antonio Court of Appeals held in Thompson that the district courts have general mandamus jurisdiction regarding criminal matters in municipal, justice, and county court. See Thompson,
We are persuaded that Thompson is correct in its conclusion that a district court’s mandamus jurisdiction is not limited to enforcing its own jurisdiction. Consequently, the 394th District Court had jurisdiction to review Borunda’s mandamus petition, and the court erred by dismissing the mandamus petition for lack of jurisdiction.
Notes
. Borunda asserts in his reply brief that a fact issue exists regarding the amount of the fine. The judgment of conviction shows that the fine imposed by the Justice Court was $400. Recitations in a judgment create a presumption of regularity and truthfulness, absent an affirmative showing to the contrary. Breazeale v. State,
. An appeal from the justice court is perfected when the appeal bond is filed with the justice or judge who tried the case not later than the 10th day after the date the judgment was entered. Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 45.0426(a)(West 2006).
. ‘‘Procedendo” is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as “[a] higher court’s order directing a lower court to determine and enter a judgment in a previously removed case.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1397 (10th ed. 2014).
. A defendant in any criminal action has the right of appeal, subject to certain limitations. See Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 44.02 (West 2006). In any case which has been appealed from any inferior court to the county court, the county criminal court, or county court at law, the defendant does not have the right to appeal unless the fine exceeds $100 unless the sole issue is the constitutionality of the statute or ordinance on which the conviction is based. Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 4.03 (West 2015). In this case, the county court dismissed the appeal because Borunda did not timely file his notice of appeal. Because Bo-runda was not convicted in the county court, he did not have a right to appeal the dismissal order to the Eighth Court of Appeals.
. This statement is incorrect. A court of appeals has jurisdiction to issue the writ of mandamus against a county judge in its district. See Tex.Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.22 l(b)(West 2004). Thus, Borunda could have filed a mandamus petition in this Court to challenge the county court's dismissal of his appeal from the justice couft to the county court.
. The direct appeal from the order dismissing the mandamus petition was given the same style as the case in the trial court, In re Martin Borunda. This is consistent with the practice in appeals from a trial court’s ruling on a petition for writ of habeas corpus. See Ex parte Enyong,
. Our conclusion that the 394th District Court has jurisdiction to hear Borunda’s mandamus petition should not be interpreted as holding that Borunda is entitled to relief on the merits. We express no opinion on the merits of the mandamus petition filed in the District Court.