Full Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont __________________ NO. 09-26-00388-CR __________________ IN RE JOHN A. FEDICK __________________________________________________________________ Original Proceeding 411th District Court of San Jacinto County, Texas Trial Cause No. 12852 __________________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OPINION John A. Fedick filed a petition for a writ of mandamus. He asks the appellate court to compel the trial court to order the trial court clerk to provide Fedick with a copy of the case file in Trial Cause Number 12852 for his use in preparing an application for a writ of habeas corpus. Fedick states that he sent a request for an “ind[i]gent copy of trial transcript” to the San Jacinto County District Clerk on February 23, 2026. To obtain mandamus relief in a criminal case, the relator must show that he has no adequate remedy at law and what he seeks to compel is ministerial, involving 1 no discretion. In re State ex rel. Best, 616 S.W.3d 594, 599 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021) (orig. proceeding). “Although they have rights to appointed counsel and a free trial record on direct appeal, indigent defendants do not have those rights for discretionary review of a decision of the court of appeals, nor for collateral attacks on their convictions.” In re Bonilla, 424 S.W.3d 528, 532 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (orig. proceeding) (citations omitted). In exercising his constitutional right to access the courts, an indigent inmate has a right to be informed of the amount it would cost to obtain a transcript of his case for his use in preparing an application for a writ of habeas corpus. Id. at 533-34. In this case, however, Fedick has not shown that he asked for information regarding the cost of the record. Instead, he requested a free record. Fedick has not shown that he is entitled to the relief sought in his mandamus petition. Accordingly, we deny the petition for a writ of mandamus. PETITION DENIED. PER CURIAM Submitted on October 6, 2026 Opinion Delivered October 7, 2026 Do Not Publish Before Golemon, C.J., Johnson and Wright, JJ. 2