William Len Rainey v. the State of Texas

Opinion filed April 3, 2025

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals
___________

No. 11-25-00053-CR
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WILLIAM LEN RAINEY, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 91st District Court
Eastland County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 22962

MEMORANDUM OPINION
In 2013, a jury found Appellant, William Len Rainey, guilty of the second-
degree felony offense of indecency with a child by sexual contact, and the trial court
sentenced him to life imprisonment in the Institutional Division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. 21.11(a)(1), (d) (West
2019). We affirmed the trial court’s judgment of conviction. See Rainey v. State,
No. 11-13-00297-CR, 2015 WL 6119526, at *1 (Tex. App.—Eastland Sept. 30,
2015, pet. ref’d) (mem. op., not designated for publication). Appellant has now filed
a pro se notice of appeal from the trial court’s order on his postconviction application
for writ of habeas corpus. We dismiss the appeal.
Upon docketing this appeal, the clerk of this court informed Appellant by
letter that it appeared that the order he attempts to appeal relates to a postconviction
writ of habeas corpus and is not an order over which this court has jurisdiction. We
requested that Appellant respond and show grounds to continue the appeal. In his
response, Appellant asserts that we should “exercise, Jurisdiction, compelled by the
Interest of Justice, in limited instances.”
The order from which Appellant attempts to appeal appears to relate to an
Article 11.07 writ of habeas corpus that he filed. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN.
art. 11.07 (West Supp. 2024). Article 11.07 vests exclusive jurisdiction over
postconviction relief from final felony convictions in the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals. See id. §§ 3, 5; Bd. of Pardons & Paroles ex rel. Keene v. Court of Appeals
for Eighth Dist., 910 S.W.2d 481, 484 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) (orig. proceeding);
Hoang v. State, 872 S.W.2d 694, 697 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) (only the Court of
Criminal Appeals has authority to grant postconviction relief from final felony
convictions). This court only has jurisdiction to consider an appeal by a criminal
defendant from a final judgment of conviction or as otherwise authorized by law.
Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696–97 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). The order from
which Appellant attempts to appeal is neither. 1 0F

1
We note that it appears that Appellant also filed a postconviction writ of habeas corpus with the
Court of Criminal Appeals that relates to the trial court’s orders, which that court has denied. See Ex parte
Rainey, WR-68,056-20 (Tex. Crim. App. Mar. 5, 2025).

2
Accordingly, we have no jurisdiction to entertain this appeal. We dismiss the
appeal for want of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM

April 3, 2025
Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
Panel consists of: Trotter, J.,
Williams, J., and Wright, S.C.J. 2 1F

Bailey, C.J., not participating.

2
Jim R. Wright, Senior Chief Justice (Retired), Court of Appeals, 11th District of Texas at Eastland,
sitting by assignment.

3