Denied and Opinion Filed July 26, 2017
S In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-17-00603-CV
No. 05-17-00604-CV
No. 05-17-00605-CV
No. 05-17-00606-CV
IN RE TERRY C. SHELTON, Relator
Original Proceeding from the 291st Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. F09-20518, F09-73040, F10-21198, and F10-55874
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Francis, Brown, and Whitehill
Opinion by Justice Whitehill
Before the Court is relator’s June 6, 2017 petition for writ of mandamus in which relator
complains of the trial court’s order withdrawing funds from his inmate trust account and failure
to rule on his motion seeking return of the funds.
To establish a right to mandamus relief in a criminal case, the relator must show that the
trial court violated a ministerial duty and there is no adequate remedy at law. In re State ex rel.
Weeks, 391 S.W.3d 117, 122 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (orig. proceeding). The relator has not met
these requirements because the proper method for seeking appellate review of an order of
withdrawal of funds from an inmate trust account is by direct appeal of the order, not by
mandamus. See In re Jones, No. 05-16-00001-CV, 2016 WL 279432, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas
Jan. 22, 2016, orig. proceeding) (citing Harrell v. State, 286 S.W.3d 315, 321 (Tex. 2009)
(“[A]ppellate review should be by appeal, as in analogous civil post–judgment enforcement
actions.”)). Relator, therefore, has an adequate appellate remedy. As for relator’s request for a
writ directing the trial court to rule on his motion for return of the withdrawn funds, the trial
court denied the motion on July 13, 2017, so that request is now moot.
Accordingly, we deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus.
/Bill Whitehill/
BILL WHITEHILL
JUSTICE
170603F.P05
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