In The 

Court of Appeals 

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

________________________

No. 07-16-00416-CV 

________________________

IN RE DALLAS JAMES MOORE 

 

 

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING 

 

November 29, 2016 

 

MEMORANDUM OPINION 

 

Before QUINN, C.J., and HANCOCK and PIRTLE, JJ. 

On November 10, 2016, Dallas James Moore, an inmate1proceeding pro se, 

filed a Writ of Mandamus seeking a reduction of the amount of bail set by the trial court 

in his criminal case. By letter that same day, this court advised Moore that the required 

filing fee of $155 did not accompany the filing of his application for writ of mandamus. 

Said letter directed him to pay the required filing fee or, in lieu thereof, file a statement 

of inability to afford payment of court costs in compliance with Rule 20.1(c) of the Texas 

 

1 Moore is an inmate in Potter County Jail. Under chapter 14, an “inmate” means a person 

housed in a “secure correctional facility” as defined by section 1.07 of the Texas Penal Code. See TEX.

CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.001(3), (4) (West 2002). Section 1.07 defines “correctional facility” as 

a place designated by law for the confinement of a person arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a 

criminal offense, including a county jail. TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 1.07(a)(14)(A) (West Supp. 2016).
2

Rules of Appellate Procedure. The letter further advised Moore that chapter 14 of the 

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires an inmate who files a statement of 

inability to afford payment of costs to also file a separate affidavit relating to previous 

filings and a certified copy of his inmate trust account. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.

CODE ANN. § 14.004 (West Supp. 2016). Said letter directed payment of the fee or the 

filing of the required documents by November 21, 2016, and it further advised Moore 

that non-compliance would subject this proceeding to dismissal without further notice.

On November 16, 2016, Moore filed with this court a statement of inability to 

afford payment of the filing fee. The statement was accompanied by an Affidavit of 

Support Relating to Previous Filing and a copy of his Potter County Detention Center 

Resident Account Summary. However, Moore’s affidavit does not state whether he has 

or has not filed any prior actions and, thus, does not provide a description of any prior

actions as required by section 14.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.2 

Further, although Moore did submit an uncertified “resident account summary” from 

Potter County Jail, this statement is an insufficient replacement for the required inmate 

trust account statement, certified or otherwise.3

Unless a party is excused from paying a filing fee, the clerk of this court is 

required to collect filing fees set by statute or the Texas Supreme Court when an item is 

 

2 Chapter 14 requires an inmate to describe previous litigation by stating the operative facts for 

which he sought relief, list the case name, cause number, and court in which the case was brought, 

identify each party, state the result of the action, and state the date of any final order affirming the 

dismissal of the action as frivolous or malicious. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.004(a)(2), (b).

3

An inmate “trust account” is a trust account administered by the Texas Department of Criminal

Justice pursuant to section 501.014 of the Texas Government Code, accounting for sums held by the 

Department on behalf of an inmate. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.001(5). The summary at 

issue here does not provide any information regarding sums held on behalf of Moore.
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presented for filing. See TEX. R. APP. P. 5, 12.1(b). Although the filing of a request for 

mandamus relief invokes this court’s jurisdiction, if a party fails to follow the prescribed 

rules of appellate procedure, the application may be dismissed. TEX. R. APP. P. 52.1.

Furthermore, the provisions of chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and 

Remedies Code apply to original proceedings, such as the mandamus proceeding 

pending before this court. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.002(a) (West 

Supp. 2016). See also In re Hereford, No. 07-14-00348-CV, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 

11521, at *1-2 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Oct. 17, 2014, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) (per 

curiam) (holding inmate’s failure to file affidavit of previous filings warranted dismissal of 

mandamus proceeding); In re Johnson, No. 07-16-00354-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 

11841, at *2 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Nov. 1, 2016, orig. proceeding) (mem. op) (per 

curiam) (dismissing inmate’s petition for writ of mandamus for failure to pay the filing fee 

or submit the required chapter 14 materials). This means that Moore’s application for 

writ of mandamus is subject to dismissal for the failure to comply with a directive from 

this court requiring that he comply with section 14.004 within a specified time. TEX. R.

APP. P. 42.3(c).

Because Moore has failed to file an appropriate affidavit or declaration relating to 

his previous filings and a certified copy of his inmate trust account within the time 

provided by this court for compliance, his original proceeding is dismissed.

Patrick A. Pirtle

 Justice