In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
______________________________
No. 06-09-00166-CR
______________________________
JACK H. MEYER, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 276th Judicial District Court
Marion County, Texas
Trial Court No. M04922
Before Morriss, C.J., Carter and Moseley, JJ.
Opinion by Justice Moseley
OPINION
Jack H. Meyer has appealed from his misdemeanor conviction by a jury for refusal to
execute release of a fraudulent lien pursuant to Section 32.49 of the Texas Penal Code. TEX.
PENAL CODE ANN. § 32.49 (Vernon 2003). The jury assessed punishment at seven days’
confinement in the county jail and a $1,000.00 fine. The trial court suspended imposition of the
sentence and placed Meyer on community supervision for two years.
At trial, after an extensive series of exchanges with the trial court, Meyer chose to represent
himself, rather than to allow appointed counsel to assert his position under the rules of the
adversary system––as counsel is required to do. See TEX. R. PROF’L CONDUCT, Preamble: A
Lawyer’s Responsibilities 2, 4 reprinted in TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN., Tit. 2, subtit. G. app. A
(Vernon 2005).
In his notice of appeal, Meyer stated that he was representing himself, and also stated that
he needed the assistance of an attorney, and asked this Court to inform him how he might acquire
the necessary assistance of counsel. We recognized that the trial court had carefully explained,
before his trial, the dangers of self-representation and questioned whether he wanted to represent
himself. We also recognized that his statements made it apparent that he wanted to control his
appeal, but with the assistance of counsel—which is effectively hybrid representation, or
alternatively might want to dictate to counsel how his appeal should be pursued—actions which
counsel may not allow under the ethical rules governing the profession. In an abundance of
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caution, we abated the case to the trial court with directions to readmonish Meyer and determine
under the standards of Faretta1 whether his decision to represent himself was made knowingly,
intelligently, and voluntarily. After a hearing at which this occurred, the court found his decision
knowing and voluntary (although a bad mistake), and Meyer signed the formal waiver
contemplated by Article 1.051 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC.
ANN. art. 1.051 (Vernon Supp. 2009).
We have, therefore, chosen to permit him to represent himself on appeal.
On February 4, Meyers presented a brief for filing that, beginning with the statement of
facts and ending at the prayer, is 253 pages long. The maximum permissible length is fifty pages;
the statement of facts does not include references to the clerk’s record or reporter’s record showing
where those facts are found, the table of contents and the index of authorities do not provide page
numbers to show where each issue or authority is found in the body of the brief, and the brief does
not contain a certificate of service stating that a copy had been served on all parties to the
proceeding. On February 4, we wrote a letter to Meyer informing him that his brief would not be
filed as presented, citing and summarizing the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure that were
violated, and directing him to submit a new brief by February 16.
Instead, Meyers wrote a letter to this Court, which we received on February 9, in which he
protests the unfairness of requiring him to act within the confines of the appellate rules, claims that
the trial court is committing treason, states that his brief ―must stand as it is,‖ and states
1
Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975).
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categorically that he believed there was not ―one lawful requirement for me to even present a brief
of my facts.‖
In response, on February 11, we again wrote Meyer. We reminded him that pro se
defendants nevertheless were required to abide by the applicable rules of procedure, reiterated the
requirements that were not met by his brief, and warned him that:
You may choose to rely on the brief that you have presented to this Court. That
decision is yours to make. However, the brief presented to this Court will be
struck and will not be considered. We hereby provide a final opportunity for you
to prepare and file a brief that complies with the requirements of the rules. We
also warn you that failure to submit a brief complying with the Texas Rules of
Appellate Procedure will cause your appeal to be subject to dismissal without
further notice.
We then reset the due date for filing a proper brief to March 4, 2010. An additional twenty days
have now elapsed. Meyer has not filed a brief, and has filed no further documents with this Court.
He has made it clear that he despises the system that he now seeks to use to his benefit. Meyer has
had opportunity to seek review, within the same framework as that used by every other litigant that
appears before this Court, and has contumaciously refused to do so.
We point out, that, contrary to his apparent beliefs, this Court does not act on behalf of the
State. We do not, and cannot, create arguments for parties—we are neither the appellant’s nor the
appellee’s advocate. We have an interest in a just adjudication, but also have an interest in
remaining impartial. See Ex parte Lowery, 840 S.W.2d 550, 552 n.1 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1992),
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rev’d on other grounds, 867 S.W.2d 41 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). Simply put, we will not brief a
defendant’s case for him. Heiselbetz v. State, 906 S.W.2d 500, 512 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995).
The brief tendered for filing, as we previously informed Meyer, fails to substantially
comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. He has twice been given the opportunity to
provide a brief, and has not just failed, but refused to do so. Meyer has failed to comply with the
directives of this Court, and has in fact stated that he intends to file only what he finds appropriate.
Accordingly, we strike Meyer’s defective brief received by this Court on February 4, 2010. See
TEX. R. APP. P. 9.4(i).
Under these circumstances, we conclude this appeal was not taken with the intention of
pursuing it to completion, but instead was taken for other purposes unrelated to the disposition of
the case. We thus conclude that Meyer has engaged in dilatory and bad faith abuse of the judicial
process. We will not permit Meyer to attempt to further manipulate the appellate system. We
dismiss this appeal for want of prosecution (both under our inherent authority and under the
authority of the appellate rules as applied to this fact situation) for Meyers’s failure to comply with
the appellate rules, and for his failure to respond to a notice from the clerk requiring action within
a specified time. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(b), (c);2 see generally Stavinoha v. State, 82 S.W.3d
690 (Tex. App.—Waco 2002, no pet.); Bush v. State, 80 S.W.3d 199 (Tex. App.—Waco 2002, no
pet.); McDaniel v. State, 75 S.W.3d 605 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2002, no pet.); Rodriguez v.
2
See Pena v. State, No. 04-04-00904-CV, 2005 WL 954396 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Apr. 27, 2005, no pet.)
(mem. op.); Dao v. State, No. 05-03-01412-CV, 2004 WL 1044352 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 10, 2004, no pet.)
(mem. op.).
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State, 970 S.W.2d 133, 135 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 1998, pet. ref’d); see also Brager v. State,
No. 0365-03, 2004 WL 3093237 (Tex. Crim. App. Oct. 13, 2004) (not designated for publication);
Johnson v. State, 166 S.W.3d 372 (Tex. App.—Waco 2005, no pet.).
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.
Bailey C. Moseley
Justice
Date Submitted: March 31, 2010
Date Decided: April 1, 2010
Publish
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