In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-23-00079-CR
No. 07-23-00080-CR
No. 07-23-00081-CR
No. 07-23-00082-CR
EX PARTE CEDRIC DEWAYNE MCNEAL
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ON APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
March 15, 2023
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Cedric Dewayne McNeal, proceeding pro se, filed four “petitions” with this Court
seeking post-conviction relief from his four final felony convictions. We construe the
documents as applications for writs of habeas corpus and dismiss them for want of
jurisdiction.
Intermediate courts of appeals do not have original habeas corpus jurisdiction in
criminal law matters. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 22.221(d) (limiting original habeas
jurisdiction of intermediate appellate courts to civil cases); Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d
586, 588-89 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1994, orig. proceeding) (per curiam). That jurisdiction
instead rests with the Court of Criminal Appeals, the district courts, and the county courts.
See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.05; Ex parte Hawkins, 885 S.W.2d at 588. Only
the Court of Criminal Appeals has authority to grant post-conviction habeas relief in felony
cases. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3(a); Ex parte Alexander, 685
S.W.2d 57, 60 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985).
For these reasons, we dismiss McNeal’s applications for writs of habeas corpus
for want of jurisdiction. 1
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
1 McNeal may be entitled to habeas relief by filing an application for writ of habeas corpus with the
clerk of the court in which the conviction being challenged was obtained, returnable to the Court of Criminal
Appeals. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07.
2