In Re Rebel Hayz Breaux v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 9th District (Beaumont)
Date FiledJuly 29, 2026
Docket09-26-00283-CR
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
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NO. 09-26-00283-CR
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IN RE REBEL HAYZ BREAUX
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Original Proceeding
163rd District Court of Orange County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 250302-C
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator Rebel Hayz Breaux seeks mandamus relief from an order that has been
vacated in a criminal case in which he is currently represented by counsel. We deny
mandamus relief and any request for temporary relief.
Breaux acknowledges that the trial court vacated the order, which held Breaux
in contempt of court because during a session in Trial Cause Number 250302-C on
July 9, 2026, Breaux did “continue[] to interrupt the Judge while he was speaking,
continued to raise his voice, and used foul language, [and did] thereby interrupt the
business of the court and impairing the respect due to its authority.” Breaux asserts
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his behavior in court was in some manner connected to the trial court’s directive that
Breaux remove “religious headwear” which caused Breaux to exhibit “predictable
neurological symptoms[]” related to an old traumatic brain injury. According to
Breaux, “The unconstitutional religious coercion that immediately preceded those
behaviors was the proximate cause of the neurological episode the order describes.”
According to Breaux, “Habeas counsel’s appointment confirms the feasibility of
conducting proceedings without such violations.”
Breaux argues that an ongoing risk exists that a demonstrated pattern of
religious coercion at an unrepresented hearing followed immediately by a contempt
finding for conduct consistent with a distress response creates a credible threat of
recurrence that could chill constitutional rights. As Breaux acknowledges, however,
the appointment of counsel in Trial Cause Number 250302-C interrupts the potential
for a repetition of the cause and effect posited by the relator.
The relator has not shown that he has no adequate remedy at law and the act
he seeks to compel is ministerial, involving no discretion. In re State ex rel. Best,
616 S.W.3d 594, 599 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021) (orig. proceeding). We deny the
petition for a writ of mandamus and any requests for temporary relief. See Tex. R.
App. P. 52.8(a), 52.10.
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PETITION DENIED.
PER CURIAM
Submitted on July 28, 2026
Opinion Delivered July 29, 2026
Do Not Publish
Before Golemon, C.J., Wright and Chambers, JJ.
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