Our district clerk has refused to file certain Motions to Revoke Community Supervision and issue the capias. We have also learned that she will not accept certain orders filed by at least one criminal defense attorney (the order was a proper one that accompanied and was in response to a previously filed and adjudicated motion). According to C.C.P. Art. 2.21 and case law she does not have any authority to do this, and in fact, is directed to accept all motions for filing. We have already taken the step of filing certain motions directly with the court, but we do not feel comfortable following that course on a long term basis. Our remedy appears to be to file a writ of mandamus to force her to file the pleadings and issue the proper processes.

Has anyone dealt with this before? If anyone has a mandamus form against a non-judicial office holder I can use as a sample, I would appreciate it.

What an odd situation. Has your clerk said why they won't file the documents?

She claims that previous items have not been "closed out" (i.e. MTR had a corresponding modification of terms of community supervision, and she did not recognize the defense order as corresponding to the previous motion---the judge had already signed the order). I cannot find anywhere that she has any discretion in the matter.

I've only been doing this 16 years and hadn't heard of it before. I've heard of having to file a writ of mandamus on a judge, but not the district clerk.

[This message was edited by Bob Cole on 11-28-07 at .]

If you have to file, be sure to file the petition in district court, not the court of appeals. Only the district court has original mandamus jurisdiction over county (and district) non-judicial officials. Our CoA burns a lot of paper and bandwidth pouring out pro se inmates who file original mandamus claims against the district clerks up here.

I'd be happy to send you a form, but all our work in district court mandamus litigation has been on the defense side.

I know I bumping this conversation from beyond the grave as it's old, however, I'm in need of an example of a mandamus form against a non-judicial office holder ASAP.

Thanks!