Virgil G. Lawson v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections

Lawson, a prisoner of the State of Texas, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for federal habeas corpus. Because the record before this Court shows that the courts of Texas have never adjudicated the merits of the appellant’s habeas grounds, we believe that the court below should have pretermitted decision until state remedies were exhausted. We therefore vacate the judgment appealed from and remand this cause to the district court with directions to dismiss the appellant’s habeas petition without prejudice to his right to reapply after pursuing his remedies under Art. 11.07,…