We do want to make you aware of procedures to follow with your 11.07 Writ of Habeas Corpus records which go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Picture this: you just filed your 11.07 writ of habeas corpus application, and you are about to have your records sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for determination. You either had a hearing, the court received evidence, or maybe the court didn’t do anything, but there’s one thing you forgot: You didn’t attach all of your records.
It is critical that you attach all the records you want when you file your 11.07 Writ of Habeas Corpus application because if you fail to do this your case could be thrown out or not overturned in a situation that would have been mitigated by the records you could have sent.
The clerk will send the required statutory documents that must be filed in every case, but that doesn’t include things that may still be very important, such as your trial court transcript or motions that you may have filed, which may be the subject of your 11.07 Writ application.
It involves some basic information such as an indictment, judgment, and similar information.
11.07 Writ Application
If you want other records to go with your 11.07 Writ of Habeas Corpus application, you need to tell the clerk that you want that 11.07 Writ application record supplemented and that you are wanting these particular things attached.
In particular circumstances, the clerk may not attach the records even if you provide them.
To circumvent this issue altogether, attach whatever it is that you want the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to look at to your application and send it to the clerk so that they will forward the application. Label exhibits of the things you want to attach.
You may not want to attach all of the records available to you. If a record is not generally deemed important in the determination of an issue, you can leave it out. Otherwise, it is recommended to include all of the records in your 11.07 Writ application.
If you fail to send in the records to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, they will simply use the records that were provided to them.
Thus, something that is perfectly obvious to you may be unknown to them, and unless the records they have specifically and clearly mention another record, they may not even know of its absence.
Let’s say your attorney you were alleging ineffective assistance of counsel because your attorney failed to act properly in a motion to suppress hearing.
If you fail to provide the motion to suppress and transcript to the court that you are alleging these things, they may be confused, deny your Writ or you may have a more difficult time proving that your attorney was ineffective.
Remember to submit your records, and if you don’t know if a record is essential, it’s probably best to submit it in your 11.07 Writ application.
Related Link:
The Basics of Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus – State Bar of Texas
About The Attorney
Jacob Blizzard is board certified in both criminal law and criminal appellate law.
He regularly practices in the areas of state and federal criminal defense, criminal appeals, post conviction writs of habeas corpus.
In Texas, there are more than 100,000 attorneys licensed to practice, but only 7,450 are board certified.
In the entire State of Texas, as of the 2019 certification year, there were only 87 attorneys board certified in both criminal law and criminal appellate law, making Mr. Blizzard one of 0.087% of attorneys in Texas to hold both of those certifications.
