IN RE: Wayne Ernest Barker (2011)

Court of Appeals of Texas, Waco.

IN RE: Wayne Ernest Barker

No. 10–11–00452–CV

Decided: December 21, 2011

Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Scoggins Petition

MEMORANDUM Opinion

Wayne Ernest Barker, a prison inmate, has presented a petition for writ of mandamus requesting a mandamus to issue against Brad Livingston, the director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

In another proceeding currently pending before us, Barker has conceded that he has been determined to be a vexatious litigant. In re Barker, 10–11–00444–CV, filed November 29, 2011. However, he does not state whether the trial court rendered an 11.101 prefiling order against him. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code § 11.101 (West Supp.2011). Further, we note that his name does not appear on the Office of Court Administration's list of vexatious litigants with prefiling orders rendered against them.¹ Because there is no confirmation of a prefiling order rendered against Barker, our Clerk was not prohibited from filing this petition for writ of mandamus. See id. § 11.103(a).

There are numerous procedural problems with Barker's petition. We use Rule 2, however, to look beyond these procedural problems to reach the merits of the petition. Tex.R.App. P. 2.

This Court has jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus only against a judge of a district or county court in our appellate district or in order to protect our jurisdiction. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221(a), (b) (West 2004). Brad Livingston is not a district or county court judge. Barker does not allege the mandamus is necessary to protect our jurisdiction. Thus, we have no jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against Brad Livingston.

Accordingly, Barker's petition for writ of mandamus is dismissed.

Barker also presented for filing with this Court a declaration of indigence with his petition for writ of mandamus. Under the circumstance of this case, we again use Rule 2 and grant Barker's request to proceed without the advance payment of cost. Tex.R.App. P. 2.

[OT06]

FOOTNOTES

FN1. See http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/vexatiouslitigants.asp.. FN1. See http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/vexatiouslitigants.asp.

TOM GRAY Chief Justice

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network