ap-77,031
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Transmitted 3/27/2015 1:53:30 PM
Accepted 3/27/2015 2:03:30 PM
March 27, 2015 ABEL ACOSTA
NO. AP-77,031 CLERK
IN THE
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
OF TEXAS
________________________________
FRANKLIN DAVIS,
Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee
________________________________
STATE’S FIRST MOTION TO EXTEND THE TIME TO FILE BRIEF
________________________________
TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS:
THE STATE OF TEXAS, by and through the Criminal District Attorney of
Dallas County, respectfully requests that the time for filing its brief in this cause be
extended. In support of this motion, the State would show the following:
I.
Appellant is confined pursuant to the judgment and sentence of the Criminal
District Court Number 7 of Dallas County, convicting him of the capital murder of
Shania Gray. On November 16, 2013, the jury answered the special issues so as to
support the imposition of a death sentence, and the trial court sentenced him to
death. Appeal to this Court is automatic. After requesting two extensions,
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Appellant filed his brief on February 27, 2015. The deadline for filing the State’s
brief is March 30, 2015. The State has requested no previous extensions in this
case.
II.
The State respectfully requests that the Court extend the deadline for the
filing of the State’s brief for 120 days, until July 28, 2015.
III.
The State would show the Court that a reasonable explanation exists for the
requested 120-day extension. The undersigned counsel manages a capital and
non-capital docket. Counsel is responsible for researching and drafting the State’s
brief in assigned non-capital direct appeals; and for investigating, researching and
drafting the State’s response and proposed findings of fact in non-capital writs of
habeas corpus filed in three assigned courts. Counsel is also responsible for
preparing for and presenting evidence at evidentiary hearings held in any of the
non-capital writs of habeas corpus in the three assigned courts as well as in
assigned capital writs of habeas corpus.
Since the filing of appellant’s brief, counsel has drafted and filed the State’s
brief in Curtis Hall v. State (05-14-00530-CR), a direct appeal pending in the Fifth
District Court of Appeals. Counsel has also drafted and filed the State’s response
in ten non-capital applications for writ of habeas corpus. Counsel has also been
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researching and preparing for an upcoming evidentiary hearing in Ex parte
Gerardo Reyna (WR-82,629-01), a non-capital writ of habeas corpus, scheduled
for April 24, 2015. Counsel is also preparing for an upcoming evidentiary hearing
in Ex parte Roderick Harris (WR-80,923-01), a capital writ of habeas corpus, set
for May 18 to May 22, 2015. Counsel must also prepare and file the State’s brief
in Albert Ayala, Jr. v. State (05-14-00530-CR), and Allen Little v. State (05-14-
00697-CR), two direct appeals pending in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.
Counsel must also continue to prepare and file the State’s response to all non-
capital applications for writs of habeas corpus in three assigned courts.
IV.
Appellant has filed a 148-page brief presenting 48 issues for review. The
reporter’s record consists of 78 volumes, and appellant’s issues cover all phases of
the trial, from pre-trial through the punishment phase. The reporter’s record
consists of 78 volumes.
V.
For all of the foregoing reasons, counsel respectfully that the Court extend
the deadline for filing the State’s brief until July 28, 2015 (120 days).
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the State respectfully requests
that the Court extend the deadline for filing the State’s brief until July 28, 2015
(120 days).
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Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Rebecca D. Ott
Susan Hawk Rebecca D. Ott
Criminal District Attorney Assistant District Attorney
Dallas County, Texas State Bar No. 24074842
Frank Crowley Courts Building
133 N. Riverfront Blvd., LB-19
Dallas, Texas 75207-4399
(214) 653-3625 (phone)
(214) 653-3643 (fax)
Rebecca.Ott@dallascounty.org
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a true copy of this motion was served on appellant’s counsel,
John Tatum, 990 S. Sherman Street, Richardson, Texas, 75081,
jtatumlaw@gmail.com, via eFile on March 27, 2015 and by U.S. mail on March
30, 2015.
/s/ Rebecca D. Ott
Rebecca D. Ott
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Davis, Franklin
Combined Opinion