### TEXA S C OU R T OF A PPEAL S, THIR D DIST R ICT , AT AU STIN

NO. 03-0 7 -00 018 -CR

Ex pa r te Bill y G e or ge Wil lia m s

F ROM THE DISTRICT CO URT OF B ELL COUNTY , 27TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT NO. 47,8 90- F , HO NORAB LE JO E CARROLL , JUDGE PRESIDI NG

O P I N I O N Billy Geor g e Willi ams seeks to a ppeal the district court’s order denying relief on a
wr it o f ha be a s cor pu s. We co nc lud e that the dis tr ic t c ourt wa s n ot a uth or ize d to c on sid e r t

he me ri ts of Willi a ms’ s w ri t a

pp lic a tio n, and

we wi ll d ism iss the a

pp e a l. I t is helpful to briefly revie w t he procedura l history of this cause . On J une 26, 1998, Wil liams pleade d g uilty

to felony failure to appea

r. See Tex. Pena l Code Ann. § 38.10 (West 2003). The district cour

t adjudg ed him g uilty

and, pursua

nt to a plea barg ain ag ree ment, assessed a five-y ear prison sentenc e to beg in when Willi ams’s ten-y ear sentenc e in Be l l C o u n ty

cause number 46,483
c e a se d to op e rate . T he dis tr ic t court ’s or de r state s tha t Williams ch a lle ng e d his co nv ic tio n in c a us e number 47,890 in four unsuccessful post-c onviction applications for w rit of habe as cor pus pursuant to article 11.07. See Te x. Cod e Cr im. Pr oc . Ann . ar t. 11. 07 (We st 200 5)

. I n J uly 20 06 , Wil liams filed a f ifth habea s corpus a

pplication, this ti me invoking a rticle V, se cti o n 8 of the Te x as Con sti tut ion . T he 26 4th Di str ic t Co ur

t r e fu se d to iss ue the wr it, and Willi a ms ap pe a le d to2

this Court. W e dismissed the appe al for w ant of jurisdiction, citing the established rule that no appea l lies from the denia l of a wr it of habea s corpus. Ex parte W illiams , N o. 03 -06 -0 04 98 -C R (T e x. Ap p. —A us tin

Se pt. 14 , 20 06 ) (me m. o p. , n ot d e sig nate d f or pu bli c a tio n) ; se e Ex

pa rte Gonzales , 12 S.W .3d 913, 914 (Tex. App.—Austin 2000, pet. ref ’d). The instant habe as cor

pus application wa s filed in the 27th Dis trict Court on September 7, 2006. I t, too, purports to be based on article V, s ection 8, which provides that district
c ourt s h a ve “ e xclu siv e , a

pp e llate , a

nd or ig ina l jur isd ic tio n of a ll a c tio ns , p ro c e e din g s, and re me die s,
e xce pt i n c a se s w he re e xclu siv e , a pp e llate , o r o ri g ina l juri sd ic tio n ma y be c on fe rr e d b y

thi s Con sti tut ion

or oth e r l aw o n s ome oth e r c ourt
. . . . ” Te x. Con st. art
. V, § 8; se e als o Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. ar t s . 11.05, .08 (West 2005). On De cembe r 7, 2006, the district cour t signe d a written orde r deny

ing Williams the relief soug ht in his writ application. This appea l followed. See Ex pa rteHa rg e tt , 8 1 9 S. W. 2 d 8 6 6 , 8 6 9 ( T e x. Cr im

. A p p . 1 9 9 1 ) ( h o ld in g th a t h a b e a s corpus applicant may

appea l denial of re lief on merits). Th e State argue s th a t th e dis tr ic t c ourt did no t ha ve jurisd ic tio n to e nte rt a in Willi a ms ’ s h a

b e a s c o r p u s a p p li c a ti o n p u r s u an t to arti c le V , s e c ti o n 8 b e c a u s e , u n d e r

the circ umstances of

this case, the c ourt of cr iminal appeals ha s exclusive habeas c orpus j urisdiction under a rticle 11.07 of the code of criminal proce dure. Article 11.07 provides that afte r a f inal felony
c on vic tio n, the wr it o f h a be a s c or pu s mu st be ma de re tur

na ble to t he c ourt of c ri min a l a

pp e a ls. Te x. Cod e Cr im. Pr oc . Ann. art
. 11 .0 7, § 3( a ). Un de r the statut e , the ha be a s c or pu s a pp lic a tio n is fi l ed i n the district court, but that cour t does not decide the merits of the a pplication. I nstead, the district court dete rmines whethe r there are unresolved fac ts material to the leg ality of the a pplicant’sThe pe rtinent distinction is betwee n “cust o d y ” o r “confinement” on the one ha nd, and 1 “re straint” on the other . “Custody ” and “c o n fi nement” me an the a ctual phy sical dete ntion of the person. Te x . Code Crim. Proc. Ann. ar t. 11.20 (West 2005)

. “Restra int” means “the kind of control wh ic h o ne pe rs on e xer c ise s ov e r ano the r, no t to c on fi ne him wi thi n c e rt a in lim its , bu t to s ub je c t hi m to the g ener al authority

and p o we r o f t h e person claiming such rig ht.” Id . a rt . 1 1. 21 . A n a dv e rs e c oll a te ra l c on se qu e nc e ari sin g fr om a c on vic tio n ma

y c on sti tut e “ restra in t” enti tli nga pe rs on to habea s corpus relief, but it is not “custody ” trig g eringthe application of article 11.07. Se e Ex pa rte Ha rg e tt , 819 S.W .2d 866, 867 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991); Ex parte Re nier , 734 S.W .2d 349, 351-53 (T e x. Cr im. Ap p. 19 87 ); se e als o 43B G eorg e E. Dix & R obert O. D awson, Texas Practice : Cri mi na l P ra c tic e an d P ro c e du re § 47.04 (2d ed. 2001)

. 3 confine ment, makes a

ny nece ssary finding s of fa ct, and f orwa rds the re cord to the c ourt of cr iminal appea ls for a f

inal ruling on the application for re lief. Id

. § 3(c) , (d), § 5. Ar ticle 11.07 also provides that “[a]fter conviction the pr ocedur e outlined in this Act shall be ex clusive and a ny other proc eeding shall be void and of no f

orce and ef

fec t in discharg ing the prisoner.” Id . § 5. Article 11.07 is applica

b l e only when the ha

beas c orpus applica

nt is confined. Ro dr igu e z v . Co ur t of

Ap pe als , 7 69 S.W. 2d

55 4, 55 7 ( Te x. Cr im. Ap p. 19 89 ); Ex p a r t e R enier , 73 4 S. W.2 d 3 49 , 3 53 (T e x. Cr im. Ap p. 19 87 ). A pe rs on wh o is not co nf ine d but is s uf

fe ri ngso me collater al conse quence as a result of a final felony conviction may not use article 11.07, but he may seek ha beas c orpus re lief fr om the district court pursua nt to article V, se ction 8. Rodriguez , 76 9 S. W.2 d at 55 7; Renier , 734 S.W .2d at 353. Thus , th e ru le is t his : a pers on who is n ot i n 1 custody but w ho is e x perie ncing an adver se collater al conseque nce arising from a final fe l o ny conviction may

seek r elief by

writ of habe as corpus in the di strict court pursua nt to article V, se ction 8. Se e Ma

y e v . S tat e , 966 S.W .2d 140, 143 (Tex. App.—Houston [14t h Dist.] 1998, no pet.). B ut
ar t i cl e 11.07 is the exclusive procedur e by which a pe rson in custody may seek post-c onviction habea s corpus re lief fr om a final fe lony conviction. Se e id

.Wil liams’s habea s corpus application was filed pr o se, but an attorney was a ppointed by 2 the district court to re prese nt him in t his appea l. We consider Wil liams’s pro se re ply brief in the interest of justice. 4

I n a pro se brief responding to the S tate’s arg ument, Wil liams asser ts that he is not
co nfined pursua

nt to cause numbe r 47,890. A t t a c h e d t o t h e p r o s e r e p l y b r i e f are do c ume nts 2 ref lecting that Wil liams is st ill serving the ten-y ear p ri s o n s en tence he re ceive d in cause number 46 ,4 83 and that his sen te nc e in ca us e numbe r 4 7, 89 0, the c on vic tio n c ha lle ng e d h e re , w ill no t be g in to operate until October 2007. This doe s not rende r article 11.07 inapplicable. I t is not necessar y that th e art ic le 11 .0 7 a

pp lic ant b e c on fi ne d a s a

re su lt o f t he c on vic tio n h e se e ks to c ha lle ng e ; art ic le 11.07 applies when the habeas corpus applicant is in custody pursuant to a f elony conviction eve n if that is not the conviction challeng ed. Renier , 7 34 S.W. 2d a t 35 2- 53 ; see Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. ar t. 11.07, § 3(c). Be cause Wil liams is im prisoned as a result of a final felony conviction, ar

ticle 11.07 provides the e x clusive proc edure by which he may seek post-c onviction habea s corpus re lief fr om his c on vic tio n in ca

us e numbe r 47, 89 0. Un de r t he c ir c ums tanc e s, the dis tr ic t c ourt ’s or de r i s v oid and pre sents nothing f

or this Court to review. The a ppeal is dismissed.5 __________________________________________ Bob Pembe rton, J ustice Be fore J ustices Patterson, Pember ton and Waldrop Dismissed Filed: Jul y

27, 2007 Pub lis h