In Re Jonathan Martinez v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
Date FiledMay 28, 2026
Docket01-26-00037-CV
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Opinion issued May 28, 2026
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-26-00037-CV
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IN RE JONATHAN MARTINEZ, Relator
Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator, Jonathan Martinez, filed a petition for writ of mandamus challenging
the trial court’s November 4, 2025 order granting the motion to exclude relator’s
expert witness in the underlying trial court cause, filed by real party in interest,
Micaela Beatrice Garcia.1 In his petition for writ of mandamus, relator asserted that
1
The underlying case is Micaela Beatrice Garcia v. Jonathan Martinez, Cause No.
2024-11582, in the 55th District Court of Harris County, Texas, the Honorable
Latosha Lewis Payne presiding.
the trial court abused its discretion by excluding his expert witness, and that
mandamus relief was the appropriate remedy to address the trial court’s error.
Relator therefore requested that the Court grant the petition and “order the trial court
to vacate” its November 4, 2025 order excluding relator’s expert witness.
In connection with his petition for writ of mandamus, relator filed a motion
for emergency relief to stay the January 27, 2026 trial setting pending this Court’s
consideration of relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. The Court granted the
motion and stayed trial in the underlying cause pending this Court’s review of the
petition for writ of mandamus. The Court further requested a response to the petition
for writ of mandamus, and real party in interest filed a response in opposition to the
request for mandamus relief. Relator further filed a reply in support of his request
for mandamus relief.
We conclude that relator has failed to establish he is entitled to mandamus
relief, and the Court, therefore, lifts the stay imposed by our January 14, 2026 order
and denies relator’s petition for writ of mandamus. We dismiss any pending motions
as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Rivas-Molloy, Johnson, and Dokupil.
2