Opinion issued April 5, 2022
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-22-00136-CR
NO. 01-22-00137-CR
NO. 01-22-00138-CR
NO. 01-22-00139-CR
NO. 01-22-00140-CR
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IN RE CASEY RAY BROWN, Relator
Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Casey Ray Brown, acting pro se, has filed an original petition for writ of
habeas corpus seeking bail reduction in the underlying cases.1 We dismiss the
petition for want of jurisdiction.
In criminal matters, this Court’s habeas corpus jurisdiction is appellate only,
and we do not have original habeas corpus jurisdiction. See TEX. GOV’T CODE §
22.221(d); Ex parte Denby, 627 S.W.2d 435, 435 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]
1981, orig. proceeding); see also Chavez v. State, 132 S.W.3d 509, 510 (Tex. App.—
Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.) (citing TEX. GOV’T CODE § 22.221) (“A court of
appeals does not have original habeas corpus jurisdiction in felony cases.”). Original
jurisdiction to grant a writ of habeas corpus in a criminal case is vested in the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals, the district courts, the county courts, or a judge in those
courts. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 11; Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d 586, 588
(Tex. App.—El Paso 1994, orig. proceeding). We thus lack jurisdiction over this
attempt to seek habeas relief directly from this Court. See, e.g., In re Buchanan, No.
01-19-00378-CR, 2019 WL 3127092, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July
16, 2019, orig. proceeding) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (dismissing
1
No record was filed with the petition. The underlying cases are The State of Texas
v. Casey Ray Brown, cause numbers 1706825, 1711705, 1711718, 1714981, and
1714982, pending in the 208th District Court of Harris County, Texas, the
Honorable Greg Glass presiding.
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petition for writ of habeas corpus because court lacks original habeas corpus
jurisdiction in criminal cases).
Accordingly, we dismiss the petition for writ of habeas corpus for want of
jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Landau, Hightower, and Rivas-Molloy.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
3