Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Opinion filed August 15, 2024.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-24-00553-CR

IN RE MARCUS TYRONE GRANT, Relator

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING

WRIT OF MANDAMUS

506th District Court

Waller County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. MG24-0444-JP1

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, relator Marcus Tyrone Grant filed a petition 

for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221; see also 

Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this court to compel the Honorable 

Gary W. Chaney, presiding judge of the 506th District Court of Waller County, to
2

rule on relator’s June 2024 motions “requesting recusal of Judge Chaney” and 

requesting “self representation with hybrid counsel.”

To be entitled to mandamus relief, a relator must show (1) the relator has no 

adequate remedy at law for obtaining the relief sought; and (2) what the relator 

seeks to compel involves a ministerial act rather than a discretionary act. In re

Flanigan, 578 S.W.3d 634, 635 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2019, orig. 

proceeding) (citing In re Powell, 516 S.W.3d 488, 494–95 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017) 

(orig. proceeding)). A trial court has a ministerial duty to consider and rule on 

motions properly filed and pending before it, and mandamus may issue to compel 

the trial court to act. Flanigan, 578 S.W.3d at 635. “A trial court is required to rule 

on a motion within a reasonable time after the motion has been submitted to the 

court for a ruling or a ruling on the motion has been requested.” Id. at 636

(quoting In re Foster, 503 S.W.3d 606, 607 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.]

2016, orig. proceeding)).

As the party seeking relief, relator has the burden of providing this court 

with a sufficient record to establish relator's right to mandamus relief. Flanigan, 

578 S.W.3d at 636; see Tex. R. App. P. 52.7(a)(1) (relator must file with the 

petition “a certified or sworn copy of every document that is material to the 

relator's claim for relief and that was filed in any underlying proceeding.”); Tex. R. 

App. P. 52.3(j) (relator must certify “that every factual statement in the petition is 

supported by competent evidence included in the appendix or record.”)

To be entitled to mandamus relief for a trial judge's failure to rule on a 

motion within a reasonable time, the record must show both that the motion was 
3

filed and brought to the attention of the judge for a ruling. Id. To establish that the 

motion was filed, relator must provide either a file stamped copy of the motion or 

other proof that the motion was in fact filed and is pending before the trial court. 

Id. Merely filing a motion with a court clerk does not show that the motion was 

brought to the trial court's attention for a ruling because the clerk's knowledge is 

not imputed to the trial court. In re Ramos, 598 S.W.3d 472, 473 (Tex. App.—

Houston [14th Dist.] 2020, orig. proceeding.)

Relator is not entitled to mandamus relief because he has not provided this 

court with any mandamus record. We deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Wilson.

Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).