Since September 1, 2024, a statewide court of appeals hears cases involving the State of Texas. Its power to issue writs of mandamus is deliberately narrower than that of the regional courts.
Texas reorganized its intermediate appellate courts in 2023 by creating a fifteenth court of appeals with statewide jurisdiction over cases involving the State. For anyone seeking mandamus in Texas, the change affects where a petition goes and whether the new court can hear it at all. This article explains the structure and its limits; the general standard for Texas mandamus is covered in Texas Mandamus Practice.
What the legislation created
Senate Bill 1045 of the 88th Legislature added the Fifteenth Court of Appeals to Chapter 22 of the Texas Government Code. According to the Legislature's bill analysis, the new court was designed to have exclusive jurisdiction over cases to which the State, a state agency or a state official is a party. The jurisdiction applies to appeals perfected on or after September 1, 2024.
Under Government Code § 22.220(d), the court has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over civil matters brought by or against the State or an executive-branch agency, including state universities, or against state officers and employees arising from their official conduct; matters in which a party challenges the constitutionality or validity of a state statute or rule and the Attorney General is a party; and other matters provided by law. The statute lists exceptions, which should be checked for any particular case.
A narrower writ power
The regional courts of appeals may issue writs of mandamus against trial judges within their districts under § 22.221(b). The Fifteenth Court's original jurisdiction is different. Section 22.221(c-1) limits it to writs arising out of matters over which the court has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction under § 22.220(d). A mandamus petition directed at a trial court's ruling in an ordinary private dispute does not belong there, even though the court's district is the whole State.
The Government Code also continues to reserve to the Supreme Court of Texas, in § 22.002(c), the power to issue writs of mandamus against officers of the executive departments of the State. The Fifteenth Court's mandamus jurisdiction is therefore mainly a jurisdiction over trial-court rulings in state-party cases, not a new route for compelling state executive officers directly. The broader role of state high courts in original proceedings is discussed in State Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction, and suits against agencies in Mandamus Against a State Agency.
Policing the boundary
Disputes over whether a case belongs in the Fifteenth Court are resolved under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 27a. In Misc. Docket Nos. 25-9013 and 25-9014, decided on March 14, 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas granted motions to transfer cases out of the Fifteenth Court to regional courts of appeals because they fell outside its exclusive jurisdiction. The orders show that the boundary is enforced case by case, and that filing in the wrong court costs time.
The standard does not change
Whichever court hears a petition, the standard is the one set out in In re Prudential Insurance Co. of America, 148 S.W.3d 124 (Tex. 2004): a clear abuse of discretion and no adequate remedy by appeal. Procedure is governed by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52. Both are explained in Texas Writ of Mandamus: TRAP 52 and the In re Prudential Standard, and Texas is compared with three other States in The Writ of Mandamus in State Courts.
Practical checklist
- Identify every party. If the State, a state agency, a state university or a state official in an official capacity is a party, consider § 22.220(d) first.
- Check the statutory exceptions before filing.
- If the target of the writ is a state executive officer rather than a trial judge, consider § 22.002(c) and the Supreme Court of Texas.
- If a case is in the wrong court, expect a Rule 27a transfer motion.
Key points
- SB 1045 (88th Leg.) created a statewide Fifteenth Court of Appeals for cases involving the State, effective for appeals perfected on or after September 1, 2024.
- Gov't Code § 22.220(d) defines its exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction, subject to listed exceptions.
- Section 22.221(c-1) limits its writ power to matters within that exclusive jurisdiction.
- Section 22.002(c) still reserves mandamus against state executive officers to the Supreme Court of Texas.
- The Supreme Court of Texas enforces the boundary through TRAP 27a transfer orders.
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