Ricky Neal Jr. v. State

ACCEPTED 12-14-00158-CR TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS TYLER, TEXAS 4/2/2015 3:13:53 PM CATHY LUSK CLERK CASE NO.: 12-14-00158-CR Trial Court Case Number: 007-0505-13 FILED IN RICKY NEAL, JR., 12th COURT OF APPEALS Appellant, THE TWELFTH COURT OF TYLER, TEXAS APPEALS, TYLER DIVISION 4/2/2015 3:13:53 PM CATHY S. LUSK Clerk vs. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee. APPELLANT’S MOTION TO EXCEED LENGTH OR WORD-VOLUME OF INITIAL BRIEF TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT: COMES NOW, the Appellant, RICKY NEAL, JR., in the above-styled and numbered cause, by and through the undersigned counsel, and files this Motion to Exceed Length or Word-Volume of Initial Brief in accordance with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.4(i). In support thereof, the undersigned would show this Honorable Court as follows: 1. On March 26, 2015, the undersigned filed Appellant’s Initial Brief with this Court. 2. As noted in the State’s Motion to Strike Appellant’s Brief for Violation of the Rules of Appellate Procedure, Appellant’s brief exceeds the word and page limitations stated under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.4(i). 3. The undersigned would submit that a brief in excess of the word and page limitations was necessary in this case given the complexity of the issues presented and the seriousness of the offense of conviction. Appellant was in fact convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. As noted in the initial brief, Appellant has raised a number of potentially meritorious issues concerning both the weight of the evidence at trial as well as well as a number of claims concerning testimony admitted at trial. Additionally, because this case involved a “multiple assailants” defense, a number of jury charge errors are alleged in the brief. 4. The undersigned therefore prays that given the complexities of the issues presented in this appeal and the seriousness of the charges, this Court expand the page and word-count limitations in this case. Accordingly, the undersigned prays that this Court expand the page limitation in this cause to permit a 25,900 word and 88-page brief, excluding exempted parts under Tex. R. App. 9.4(i)(1). WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Defendant hereby specifically requests that this Honorable Court deny the State’s Motion to Strike Appellant’s Brief and grant Appellant’s request to exceed the word-count and page limitations in this this cause. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Carlo D’Angelo CARLO D’ANGELO ATTORNEY AT LAW 100 East Ferguson, Suite 1210 Tyler, Texas 75702 Texas State Bar No. 24052664 Tel 903.595.6776 Fax 903.407.4119 carlo@dangelolegal.com Attorney for Appellant CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing motion was furnished to Assistant District Attorney Michael J. West, Office of the District Attorney, 100 North Broadway, 4th Floor, Smith County, Texas, 75702 via electronic case filing on this 2 April 2015. /s/ Carlo D’Angelo 2 Carlo D’Angelo 3