State of Texas v. Jesse Joe Patrick, Appellee; State of Texas Ex. rel. Bill Hill, Relator, v. Honorable Karen…

Summary

The Court held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to order post‑conviction DNA testing outside the procedures set out in Chapter 64 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and therefore the State is entitled to a writ of mandamus directing the trial court to vacate its order; the State's appeal was dismissed. A dissent argued that mandamus was unavailable because the trial judge did not violate a clear ministerial duty.