Dennis James Poledore v. State ( 2015 )

Opinion issued March 3, 2015
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
————————————
NO. 01-14-01001-CR
NO. 01-14-01002-CR
NO. 01-14-01003-CR
———————————
DENNIS JAMES POLEDORE, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 240th District Court
Fort Bend County, Texas
Trial Court Case Nos. 05-DCR-42537B; 05-DCR-42538B; 05-DCR-42572B
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On August 17, 2006, appellant Dennis James Poledore, Jr. was convicted by
a jury of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was
sentenced to sixty years’ confinement in each case.1 On direct appeal, this Court
affirmed the trial court’s judgment. See Poledore v. State, Nos. 01-06-00948-CR,
01-06-00998-CR, 01-06-00999-CR, 2008 WL 2466209, *1 (Tex. App.—Houston
[1st Dist.] June 19, 2008, pet. ref’d). The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied
Poledore’s petition for discretionary review on November 5, 2008 and our mandate
issued on December 23, 2008.
On August 5, 2009, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Poledore’s
initial post-conviction application for writ of habeas corpus. On May 22, 2013, the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed a subsequent application filed by
Poledore. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PRO. ANN. art. 11.07, § 4(a)–(c) (West Supp. 2014)
(after final disposition of initial application for writ of habeas corpus, courts may
not consider merits or grant relief on subsequent application unless certain
requirements are met).
Poledore filed another subsequent application for writ of habeas corpus on
October 22, 2014. On November 12, 2014, the convicting court issued an order
containing its findings of fact and conclusions of law and recommended that the
Court of Criminal Appeals deny Poledore’s subsequent application for writ of
habeas corpus. On December 8, 2014, Poledore filed a notice of appeal of the trial
court’s order, stating that the trial court denied his (1) “Final Disposition
1
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.02 (West 2011).
2
Determination Hearing Request,” (2) “Motion Requesting an Evidentiary Hearing
for a §4(a) Provision ‘Final Disposition’ Conducted for Applicant’s Prior Writ
Ground One ‘Denied U.S., Fed., and Tex. Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel’
Claim,” and (3) “Second Subsequent Writ Applications Grounds One thru [sic]
Three.” On December 17, 2014, the Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed
Poledore’s subsequent application for writ of habeas corpus. See id.
Only the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction in final post-
conviction felony proceedings, which are governed by Article 11.07 of the Texas
Code of Criminal Procedure. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07; Olivo v.
State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 525 n.8 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996); Bd. of Pardons & Paroles
ex rel. Keene v. Court of Appeals for Eighth Dist., 910 S.W.2d 481, 483 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1995); In re McAfee, 53 S.W.3d 715, 717 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st
Dist.] 2001, orig. proceeding). “Courts of appeals have no jurisdiction over post-
conviction writs of habeas corpus in felony cases. Article 11.07 contains no role
for the courts of appeals.” In re Briscoe, 230 S.W.3d 196, 196 (Tex. App.—
Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, orig. proceeding) (internal citations omitted). “Should an
applicant find it necessary to complain about an action or inaction of the convicting
court, the applicant may seek mandamus relief from the Court of Criminal
Appeals.” In re McAfee, 53 S.W.3d at 718. Because Poledore’s conviction became
final on December 23, 2008 and Poledore has filed a writ of habeas corpus with the
3
Court of Criminal Appeals, this is a final post-conviction felony proceeding, and
we have no jurisdiction over these appeals. See Medina v. State, No. 01-14-00117-
CR, 2014 WL 1494304, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Apr. 15, 2014, no
pet.).
Moreover, the Court of Criminal Appels has dismissed the application for
writ of habeas corpus that is the subject of this appeal. To the extent that Poledore
seeks to appeal the Court of Criminal Appeals’ dismissal of his application, we do
not have authority to review the Court of Criminal Appeals’ rulings. See TEX.
CONST. ANN. art. V, § 5(a) (West 2007) (unless provided otherwise, Court of
Criminal Appeals has final appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases).
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeals. See TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(f). We
dismiss any pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Bland, and Massengale.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
4