COURT OF APPEALS EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS EL PASO, TEXAS
IN RE: § No. 08-24-00320-CR
STEVEN CHAVEZ SR., § AN ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
Relator. § IN HABEAS CORPUS
§
§
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Steven Chavez Sr., pro se, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in this Court. 1
In his habeas petition, Chavez seeks relief from his criminal conviction in trial court cause 20170D01512 in the 327th District Court of El Paso County, Texas. Article 11.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states that “[t]he court of criminal appeals, the district courts, the county courts, or any judge of those courts may issue the writ of habeas corpus, and it is their duty, on proper application, to issue the writ under the rules prescribed by law.” Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 11.05.
1 Chavez filed a form for a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C § 2251, intended for use in federal court.
As a court of appeals, this Court’s original habeas corpus jurisdiction is limited to civil matters. See In re Quinata, 538 S.W.3d 120, 120 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2017, orig. proceeding); Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221(d) (“Concurrently with the supreme court, the court of appeals of a court of appeals district in which a person is restrained in his liberty, or a justice of the court of appeals, may issue a writ of habeas corpus when it appears that the restraint of liberty is by virtue of an order, process, or commitment issued by a court or judge because of the violation of an order, judgment, or decree previously made, rendered, or entered by the court or judge in a civil case.”).
Because this Court is not the proper court to address the type of habeas petition before us, we dismiss the petition for writ of habeas corpus for lack of jurisdiction.
LISA J. SOTO, Justice August 29, 2024 Before Alley, C.J., Palafox, and Soto, JJ.