DENIED and Opinion Filed April 20, 2022
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-01124-CV
No. 05-21-01125-CV
IN RE LAWRENCE ALLEN FULLER, Relator
Original Proceeding from the Criminal District Court No. 3
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. F97-01742-J & F97-02170-J
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Myers, Partida-Kipness, and Carlyle
Opinion by Justice Myers
Lawrence Allen Fuller has filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to
compel the trial court to issue a ruling on his motion for post-conviction DNA
testing. The Court requested a response to the petition. In its response, the State has
shown the respondent trial court issued a March 14, 2022 order denying relator’s
motion. Accordingly, we deny relief on the petition because the matter is now moot.
To obtain mandamus relief, relator must show: (1) that he has no adequate
remedy at law, and (2) that the act he seeks to compel is a ministerial act for which
he has a clear right to relief. See In re Bonilla, 424 S.W.3d 528, 534 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2014) (orig. proceeding). In seeking to compel a ruling from the trial court,
relator has a right to a ruling, but mandamus may not be used to compel the trial
court to rule a certain way on a matter in which it is exercising its judicial discretion.
In re State ex rel. Young v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Ct. of Appeals, 236 S.W.3d 207, 210
(Tex. Crim. App. 2007).
The trial court’s ruling denying relator’s motion delivers all of the relief he is
requesting and entitled to in a mandamus proceeding, thus rendering his cause moot.
See Bonilla, 424 S.W.3d at 534 (mandamus relief rendered moot when relator
received information he was seeking); In re Johnson, 599 S.W.3d 311, 311–12 (Tex.
App.—Dallas 2020, orig. proceeding) (mandamus proceeding seeking ruling on
motion rendered moot when respondent trial court ruled on motion); see also In re
Graves, No. 05-14-00306-CV, 2014 WL 1032466, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar.
13, 2014, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) (mandamus proceeding seeking ruling on
post-conviction DNA motion rendered moot when trial court issued ruling on
motion).
Accordingly, relator’s petition for writ of mandamus is denied as moot.
211124f.p05 /Lana Myers//
211125f.p05 LANA MYERS
JUSTICE
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