Porter v. Director, TDCJ-CID
Petitioner: Steven Ray Porter
Respondent: Director, TDCJ-CID
Case Number: 3:2026cv00034
Filed: January 7, 2026
Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Presiding Judge: Ed Kinkeade
Referring Judge: Rebecca Rutherford
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Pet/Habeas Corpus: General
Cause of Action: 28 U.S.C. § 2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)
Jury Demanded By: None
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Docket Report

This docket was last retrieved on June 23, 2026. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.

Date Filed Document Text
June 23, 2026 Filing 22 RESPONSE to #2 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Director, TDCJ-CID. (Attachments: #1 Appendix) (Hanna, Cara)
June 23, 2026 Filing 21 Administrative Record consisting of State court papers filed by Director, TDCJ-CID. (Attachments: #1 SHCR_01 Writ Received Writ 08-28-2014, #2 SHCR_01 Action Taken 09-24-2014) (Hanna, Cara)
May 20, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:20. Wed May 20 22:06:22 CDT 2026 (crt)
May 19, 2026 Opinion or Order Filing 20 ELECTRONIC ORDER: Upon consideration, Respondent's motion for an extension of time to file a response to the petition for a writ of habeas corpus is GRANTED. Respondent shall file its response by June 24, 2026. (Ordered by Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on 5/19/2026) (chmb)
May 15, 2026 Filing 19 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to #2 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Director, TDCJ-CID with Brief/Memorandum in Support. (Attachments: #1 Proposed Order) (Hanna, Cara)
April 30, 2026 Filing 18 CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS/DISCLOSURE STATEMENT by Director, TDCJ-CID. (Clerk QC note: No affiliate entered in ECF). (Hanna, Cara)
April 30, 2026 Filing 17 NOTICE of Attorney Appearance by Cara Blossom Hanna on behalf of Director, TDCJ-CID. (Filer confirms contact info in ECF is current.) (Hanna, Cara)
April 10, 2026 Filing 16 OBJECTION filed by Steven Ray Porter re: 12 Order on Motion to Appoint Counsel. (kcr)
April 10, 2026 Filing 15 NOTICE of Nonconsent to Proceed Before a United States Magistrate Judge filed by Steven Ray Porter. (kcr)
April 6, 2026 Opinion or Order Filing 14 ELECTRONIC ORDER: Before the Court is Petitioner's Motion to Tender the Court (ECF No. 13), in which he seeks $400,000 from the Court for legal education material, attorney fees, investigator fees, correspondence material, and other expenses. The Supreme Court has determined that the expenditure of public funds on behalf of an indigent litigant is proper only when authorized by Congress. Whitfield v. Marsh, 2007 WL 10129510, at *1 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 30, 2007) (citing United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317 (1976)). Neither 28 U.S.C. 1915 nor other federal law authorizes payment of an indigent litigant's expenses. See Tabron v. Grace, 6 F.3d 147, 159 (3d Cir. 1993) ("There is no provision in [ 1915] for the payment by the government of the costs of...litigation expenses, and no other statute authorizes courts to commit federal monies for payment of the necessary expenses in a civil suit brought by an indigent litigant."). Therefore, Petitioner's Motion to Tender the Court is DENIED. (Ordered by Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on 4/6/2026) (chmb)
April 6, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:14. Mon Apr 6 09:49:19 CDT 2026 (crt)
March 31, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:12. Tue Mar 31 12:29:21 CDT 2026 (crt)
March 30, 2026 Opinion or Order Filing 12 ELECTRONIC ORDER: Before the Court are the petitioner's motion to appoint counsel (ECF No. 8) and motion for issuance of a show cause order (ECF No. 9). Petitioner is not entitled to counsel in a habeas proceeding as a matter of right. United States v. Vasquez, 7 F.3d 81, 83 (5th Cir. 1993). A court may appoint counsel when exceptional circumstances are present. Branch v. Cole, 686 F.2d 264, 266 (5th Cir. 1982). Here, the State has not responded to the Petition yet, so the Court is unable to tell if this case presents exceptional circumstances for appointing counsel. Petitioner's motion for court-appointed counsel (ECF No. 8) is therefore DENIED without prejudice as premature. As for Petitioner's motion to issue a show cause order (ECF No. 9), the Court has issued a show cause order, so the motion is DENIED AS MOOT. (Ordered by Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on 3/30/2026) (chmb)
March 27, 2026 Filing 13 MOTION to tender the court filed by Steven Ray Porter. (kcr)
March 27, 2026 Acknowledgment of Electronic Service re: Petition, supporting documents, if any, and Order(s) received by Office of Attorney General of Texas. Laura L Haney 3/27/2026. (cfk)
March 27, 2026 Filing 11 Notice of service re #10 Order to Show Cause/Order to Answer, #2 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to OAG Texas. (kcr)
March 27, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:10. Fri Mar 27 09:30:25 CDT 2026 (crt)
March 26, 2026 Opinion or Order Filing 10 ORDER REQUIRING RESPONDENT TO SHOW CAUSE AND NOTICE AND INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTIES: The clerk will electronically serve this order, the petition, and supporting documents to the designee for the Office of the Texas Attorney General. Respondent must file an Answer to this petition within 60 DAYS of the date of service of this Order that complies with Rule 5(b). Petitioner may submit a reply brief to Respondent's answer within 30 DAYS from the date of service of the Answer. (Ordered by Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on 3/26/2026) (kcr)
March 23, 2026 Filing 9 MOTION for Issuance of Show Cause Order filed by Steven Ray Porter. (axm)
March 23, 2026 Filing 8 MOTION to Appoint Counsel filed by Steven Ray Porter. (axm)
January 22, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:5, 6. Thu Jan 22 08:08:09 CST 2026 (crt)
January 20, 2026 Filing 7 RESPONSE to Notice of Electronic Filing filed by Steven Ray Porter re: #4 Case Transferred In - District Transfer. (axm)
January 8, 2026 Filing 4 Case electronically transferred in from District of Texas Eastern; Case Number 1:25-cv-00535. Unless exempted, attorneys who are not admitted to practice in the Northern District of Texas should seek admission promptly. Forms, instructions, and exemption information may be found at www.txnd.uscourts.gov, or by clicking here: # Attorney Information - Bar Membership. If admission requirements are not satisfied within 21 days, the clerk will notify the presiding judge. Copy of NEF to be sent US Mail to parties not electronically noticed.
January 8, 2026 ***Clerk's Notice of delivery: (see NEF for details) Docket No:. NEF of document #4 Thu Jan 8 08:46:24 CST 2026 (crt)
December 17, 2025 Filing 3 MEMORANDUM OPINION Regarding Transfer. This action is transferred to the Dallas Division of the US District Court for the Northern District of TX. Signed by Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn on 12/17/25. Mailed to Porter 12/18. (tkd) [Transferred from Texas Eastern on 1/8/2026.]
December 17, 2025 ***Per Local Rule CV-83(b), this action will be transferred to the Northern District of TX twenty-one (21) days after the date of the transfer order. (tkd) [Transferred from Texas Eastern on 1/8/2026.]
November 3, 2025 Filing 2 PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 USC 2254 (fee not paid), filed by Steven Ray Porter (severed from case 1:25cv368) (tkd) [Transferred from Texas Eastern on 1/8/2026.]
November 3, 2025 Opinion or Order Filing 1 ORDER OF SEVERANCE. Petitioner's claims regarding his criminal proceedings in Kaufman County, Texas are severed from case 1:25cv368 and will proceed as a separate petition. Signed by Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn on 11/3/25. Mailed order and Ntc of Case Assign to Porter 11/3. (tkd) [Transferred from Texas Eastern on 1/8/2026.]
November 3, 2025 Case referred to Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn pursuant to a Standing Order (tkd) [Transferred from Texas Eastern on 1/8/2026.]

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Petitioner: Steven Ray Porter
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Respondent: Director, TDCJ-CID
Represented By: Tomee Morgan Heining
Represented By: Cara Blossom Hanna
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