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in Re Brandon Ray Morgan
Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed March 16, 2021.
In The
Fourteenth Court of Appeals
NO. 14-21-00119-CR NO. 14-21-00120-CR
IN RE BRANDON RAY MORGAN, Relator
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 338th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause Nos. 1419351 & 1354996
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On March 4, 2021, relator Brandon Ray Morgan filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this court to compel the Honorable Ramona Franklin, presiding judge of the 338th District Court of Harris County, to order the State of Texas and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences through the
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Harris County District Attorney’s Office to provide paper copies of the complete litigation packet underlying the testing data in his case.
To be entitled to mandamus relief, a relator must show that (1) he has no adequate remedy at law for obtaining the relief that he seeks; and (2) what the relator seeks to compel involves a ministerial act rather than a discretionary act. In re Powell, 516 S.W.3d 488, 494–95 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017) (orig. proceeding). A governmental body is not required to accept or comply with a request for information from an individual who is imprisoned or confined in a correctional facility. Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 552.028(a)(1). Disclosure of information requested by an inmate is discretionary. Harrison v. Vance, 34 S.W.3d 660, 663 (Tex. App.―Dallas 2000, no pet.). Therefore, the trial court does not have a ministerial duty to compel the State of Texas or the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences through the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to provide paper copies of the complete litigation packet underlying the testing data.
Relator has not shown that he is entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, we deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Wise, Zimmerer, Poissant. Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).