                                     In The

                               Court of Appeals
                   Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
                          ____________________
                             NO. 09-15-00319-CR
                          ____________________



                            IN RE OTTO CAULEY


_______________________________________________________          ______________

                              Original Proceeding
                  1A District Court of Newton County, Texas
                           Trial Cause No. ND-6336
________________________________________________________          _____________

                         MEMORANDUM OPINION

      In his petition for a writ of mandamus, Otto Cauley asks that the Court

compel the judge of the 1A District Court of Newton County, Texas to hold a

hearing and make findings of fact and conclusions of law on a motion for new trial

that Cauley says he filed in Trial Court Case Number ND-6336 on May 9, 2015.

He identifies a case where his conviction has been affirmed on appeal and the

mandate has issued. See generally Cauley v. State, No. 09-11-00034-CR, 2012 WL

1448375, at *4 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Apr. 25, 2012, pet. ref’d) (mem. op., not

                                        1
designated for publication). “The trial court’s jurisdiction expires when a case

becomes final or is taken to a higher court.” In re State ex rel. Sistrunk, 142

S.W.3d 497, 503 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, orig. proceeding).

Because the trial court had no jurisdiction to consider Cauley’s motion for new

trial, the trial court did not err by refusing to hold a hearing on it. See In re

Pettigrew, 301 S.W.3d 920, 922-23 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2009, orig. proceeding);

see also Tex. R. App. P. 21.4(a).

      PETITION DENIED.


                                                            PER CURIAM


Submitted on August 25, 2015
Opinion Delivered August 26, 2015
Do Not Publish

Before McKeithen, C.J., Horton and Johnson, JJ.




                                       2
