NO. 12-14-00320-CV

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT

TYLER, TEXAS

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, 

APPELLANT

V.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE,

APPELLEE

§

§

§

APPEAL FROM THE 369TH 

JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PER CURIAM

Elliott Williams, an inmate, filed this pro se in forma pauperis appeal from the trial court’s 

order dismissing his lawsuit. We dismiss the appeal as frivolous.

INMATE LITIGATION–CHAPTER 14

Effective January 1, 2012, Chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code was 

amended to apply to an action, including an appeal or an original proceeding, brought by an inmate 

in a district, county, justice of the peace, or small claims court, or an appellate court in which an 

affidavit of indigence is also filed. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.002 (West Supp. 

2014). This means that the requirements of Chapter 14 apply when inmates file an appeal or an 

original proceeding in an appellate court just as when they file an action in a trial court. See id.

Chapter 14 requires an inmate to file an affidavit or declaration “relating to previous filings” 

in which the inmate must detail all previous actions filed pro se, other than a suit under the Texas 

Family Code. Id. § 14.004(a) (West Supp. 2014). The affidavit or declaration must be 

accompanied by a certified copy of his “inmate trust account statement” that “reflect[s] the balance 

of the account at the time the claim is filed and activity in the account during the six months 

preceding the date on which the claim is filed.” Id. § 14.004(c) (West Supp. 2014). The filings 
2

required under Chapter 14 are “an essential part of the process by which courts review inmate 

litigation.” Hickson v. Moya, 926 S.W.2d 397, 399 (Tex. App.–Waco 1996, no writ).

If the inmate fails to file the affidavit or declaration with the required information about 

previous filings or the inmate trust account statement, the trial court can dismiss the action without 

notice or hearing. See, e.g., Amir-Sharif v. Mason, 243 S.W.3 854, 857 (Tex. App.–Dallas 2008, 

no pet.); Thompson v. Rodriguez, 99 S.W.3d 328, 330 (Tex. App.–Texarkana 2003, no pet.). 

Further, when an inmate fails to comply with the requirement for the affidavit or declaration of 

previous filings, the trial court may assume that the current action is substantially similar to one 

previously filed by the inmate and thus is frivolous. Bell v. Tex. Dep’t of Criminal Justice–

Institutional Div., 962 S.W.2d 156, 158 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, pet. denied). We 

see no reason why this caselaw interpreting the Chapter 14 requirements as they apply to actions 

filed in trial courts should not also now apply to actions filed in appellate courts. See Douglas v. 

Turner, No. 10-13-00031-CV, 2013 WL 2245653, at *1 (Tex. App.–Waco May 9, 2013, no pet.) 

(op., not yet released for publication).

In this appeal, Williams did not file a copy of his inmate trust account statement or an 

affidavit or declaration of previous filings. Because the requirements of Chapter 14 now apply to 

inmate proceedings in the courts of appeals, caselaw permits us to dismiss Williams’s appeal 

without notice. 

CONCLUSION

Williams did not comply with the Chapter 14 requirement for a copy of his inmate trust 

account statement and an affidavit or declaration of previous filings. Therefore, we dismiss this 

appeal as frivolous. See Bell, 62 S.W.2d at 158.

Opinion delivered November 5, 2014.

Panel consisted of Worthen, C.J., Griffith, J., and Hoyle, J.

(PUBLISH)
COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT OF TEXAS

JUDGMENT

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

NO. 12-14-00320-CV

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS,

Appellant

V.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE,

Appellee

Appeal from the 369th District Court 

of Anderson County, Texas (Tr.Ct.No. 369-14-5236)

THIS CAUSE came to be heard on the appellate record; and the same 

being considered, it is the opinion of this court that this appeal should be dismissed.

It is therefore ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED by this court that 

this appeal be, and the same is, hereby dismissed; and that this decision be certified to the court 

below for observance.

By per curiam opinion.

Panel consisted of Worthen, C.J., Griffith, J., and Hoyle, J.