Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Ex Parte Eric Brian Schmidt, Appellant
July 2, 20032003 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 155
Summary
The Court of Criminal Appeals held that Article 11.09 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure does not require a petitioner to be confined in order for a county court to have jurisdiction to issue a writ of habeas corpus, and that the appellate court has jurisdiction to review the trial court's jurisdictional determination. Accordingly, the lower courts' dismissals were reversed and the cases remanded for further action. Justice Keasler dissented, arguing the Court should have dismissed the petition as improvidently granted.