Court Filings

The Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals denied Latoya J. Yancy’s App.R. 26(B) application to reopen her direct criminal appeal. Yancy claimed appellate counsel was ineffective for not challenging various trial errors, including prosecutorial misconduct, failure to move to suppress, and failure to present mitigating evidence. The court found no record support that appellate counsel performed deficiently or that Yancy suffered prejudice; many issues had already been considered on direct appeal or lacked record evidence. Because the record did not show a colorable ineffective-assistance claim, the application to reopen was denied.

The Georgia Court of Appeals reviewed an Application for Discretionary Appeal filed by Keithan B. Patmon from the State. After consideration, the court issued an order dated April 27, 2026, denying the application. The document is a brief administrative entry recording the court's disposition without additional written opinion or reasoning.

The Court of Appeals of the Sixth Appellate District (Texarkana) denied John Henry Garber’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking an order forcing the Delta County court to rule on multiple pro se pretrial motions in three misdemeanor cases. The court found the record Garber supplied inadequate to show he had a clear, ministerial right to the relief because the registers show he failed to appear at a December 16, 2024 hearing and a warrant issued; there is no record he was re-arrested or returned to custody. The court emphasized mandamus requires a complete record and that a relator must show a clear right to relief, which Garber did not do.

The Georgia Court of Appeals considered an application for discretionary appeal in the criminal case of Joseph McClellan Raines (LC No. 2017CR0650) and denied the application on April 24, 2026. The order is brief and procedural: the court simply records that the application for discretionary review is denied, without published reasoning or discussion of the merits. The document is a certified court minute entry signed by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

The Georgia Court of Appeals denied the appellant's emergency motion seeking a stay or supersedeas while the appeal is docketed. The order is a short administrative disposition entered on April 20, 2026, declining temporary relief; it does not address the merits of the underlying appeal. The clerk certified the order as an extract from the court minutes.

The Georgia Court of Appeals considered an Application for Discretionary Appeal in the criminal case captioned TZVI YEHUDA STRAUSS v. THE STATE (LC No. 25CR00175) and issued a short order on April 16, 2026. The court denied the application for discretionary appeal, meaning it declined to review the lower court's decision. No written opinion or reasoning is included in the order; the denial is a discretionary procedural ruling rather than a substantive decision on the merits.

The First District Court of Appeal denied Walter Jim Roberson Jr.'s petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The court exercised its original jurisdiction to consider the petition and, without an opinion, entered a per curiam order denying relief. The denial means the court found no basis to grant the petition or to disturb the underlying appellate result. The decision was issued April 16, 2026, and three judges concurred.

The Florida First District Court of Appeal, in its original jurisdiction, denied on the merits Charles Dawson’s amended petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The petition was filed August 13, 2025, and the court issued its per curiam decision on April 16, 2026. The court reviewed the claims presented and concluded they did not establish ineffective assistance sufficient to warrant relief, so the petition was denied without remand or other relief.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals denied Alan Harris Jr.’s App.R. 26(B) application to reopen his 2025 direct appeal. Harris argued appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising challenges to his sentence and plea, and he filed a late supplemental claim that his plea was involuntary because of alleged deficiencies outside the record. The court found the supplement untimely, held that the plea waived many challenges (including failure to file a suppression motion), and determined the plea colloquy and sentencing record did not show reversible error. The application to reopen was denied for lack of merit and timeliness.

The Florida Supreme Court denied Chadwick Willacy’s requests for public records and related relief after the Governor signed his death warrant. Willacy had sought records from FDOC and other state agencies about Florida’s lethal-injection protocol and interagency communications; the circuit court denied those motions and refused rehearing or in camera review. The Supreme Court treated his appeal as a Rule 9.142(c) petition, found Willacy failed to show the records were tied to a colorable postconviction claim (and were therefore an impermissible fishing expedition), and denied his petition and his habeas petition, dismissed his appeal of an extension request, and denied oral argument.

The court construed Ignacio Lara Jr.'s pro se filing as a petition for writ of mandamus challenging the trial court's order for a competency examination. The court explained mandamus standards and the requirements for such petitions under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, including the need to show a ministerial duty and an inadequate legal remedy and to supply an adequate record. Because Lara failed to meet procedural and record requirements and did not show entitlement to relief, the court denied the petition for writ of mandamus without issuing an opinion for publication.

The Fourth Court of Appeals, San Antonio, denied Shawn L. Sanders's petition seeking either a writ of mandamus or, alternatively, a writ of prohibition. Sanders filed the petition on March 23, 2026, asking the appellate court to intervene in underlying criminal case No. 2023-CR-3165 in Bexar County. After reviewing the petition and record, the court concluded Sanders did not establish entitlement to the extraordinary relief requested and therefore denied both the mandamus and prohibition petitions without publishing an opinion.

The Georgia Court of Appeals considered an application for an interlocutory appeal filed by Desmond Camp in two criminal cases (LC Nos. 25CR0733 and 26CR0023) and denied the application on April 1, 2026. The order is brief: the court reviewed the request for permission to take an appeal before final judgment and concluded that interlocutory review was not warranted, issuing a simple denial without published opinion or extended reasoning. The clerk certified the order as an extract from the court minutes.