James Bradley Warden v. State

ACCEPTED 03-15-00299-CR 7983249 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS KENNETH G. MAHAFFEY AUSTIN, TEXAS 11/25/2015 8:32:09 AM Attorney At Law JEFFREY D. KYLE P. O. Box 684585 CLERK Austin, TX 78768 Phone and Fax (512) 444-6557 FILED IN November 25, 2015 3rd COURT OF APPEALS CERTIFIED MAIL 7008 1300AUSTIN, TEXAS 0001 1357 6350 James Bradley Warden 01994759 11/25/2015 8:32:09 AM Bradshaw Unit JEFFREY D. KYLE P.O. Box 9000 Clerk Henderson, TX 75653-9000 RE: Transmittal of Court of Appeals's Opinion and Judgment Affirming Your Conviction and Information on Filing Petition for Discretionary Review Dear Mr. Warden: I regret to inform you that the Court of Appeals has affirmed your conviction for Evading Arrest and Possession of Methamphetamine less than one gram. The Court’s opinion is enclosed. This ruling lets your conviction stand. The Court also approved a motion to withdraw. This was granted because the record did not contain any issues that could support a good faith argument for reversal. I assure you I did read the record carefully and would have raised any argument that was supported by the record. Unfortunately, not all cases contain appropriate appellate issues. I was appointed only for the initial appeal to the Court of Appeals. There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel for any further challenges to your conviction. This means you must either hire counsel or proceed pro se. "Pro se" means the appellant or defendant is representing themselves without a lawyer. Since I have other clients and responsibilities, I simply cannot afford to continue your case for free. I also do not accept money from appointed clients so that I never end up in a situation where anyone feels I would have worked harder if paid privately. You have a right to file a Petition for Discretionary Review (“PDR”) with the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest court for criminal matters in Texas. That Court does not have to accept all appeals but decides in its “discretion” which cases to review. This means it accepts only exceptional cases where the law is in doubt or the Court of Appeals is clearly wrong. If you are unable to hire other counsel and elect to proceed pro se, the following is an explanation of how to proceed. A PDR challenges the Court of Appeals' decision. One cannot raise issues from the trial that were not considered by the Court of Appeals. Basically, it is a short brief (15 pages or less) suggesting particular issues for the high court to review and explaining why each issue is important. The rules require you to attach a copy of the Court of Appeals opinion because this is the ruling you are asking the Court to review. The PDR process is generally governed by Rules 66 and 68 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. You should, of course, review all the Appellate Rules to ensure you are in compliance. Letter to James Bradley Warden November 25, 2015 Page -- 2 ____________________________________ Any PDR is due within thirty days after the date the Court of Appeals opinion. The address is as follows: Court of Criminal Appeals, P.O. Box 12308, Austin TX 78711. You should send a copy of the PDR, and any other documents filed with the courts, to the District Attorney and the State Prosecuting Attorney. Those addresses are as follows: Burnet County District Attorney, 1701 E. Polk Ste 24, Burnet, TX 78611 and the State Prosecuting Attorney, P. O. Box 13046, Austin, Texas 78711-3046. Finally, you may have complaints about your trial that could not be addressed by this appeal because the record was insufficient to document the issues. Claims not supported by the initial appellate record are not forever barred, they are simply not ready for decision on direct appeal. A proper record can be created by obtaining a hearing through an application for writ of habeas corpus. This will permit you to raise claims such as ineffective assistance of counsel, new evidence, assertions of perjury, and other matters requiring a written record of evidence and testimony. Habeas corpus is a separate proceeding that cannot begin until after the initial appeal is concluded. Habeas corpus is governed by Art. 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. You must make the application on a form prescribed for this purpose. That form can be obtained by writing to Burnet District Clerk, 1701 E. Polk Street, Suite 90, Burnet, Texas 78611. The application must also be filed with the district clerk. Be aware that you should raise all claims in the first writ application because the right to file later writ applications is severely limited. Finally, I again assure you I did my best to obtain a new trial in your case. Please understand that I do not like to lose either. I also sincerely wish you all the best in any further challenges to your conviction and for release on parole at the earliest opportunity. Very truly yours, Ken Mahaffey attachments: Opinion and Judgment in cause number(s) 03-15-00298-CR & 03-15-00299-CR KENNETH G. MAHAFFEY Attorney At Law P. O. Box 684585 Austin, TX 78768 Phone and Fax (512) 444-6557 Email Ken_Mahaffey@yahoo.com November 25, 2015 Clerk of the Court Third Court of Appeals P.O. Box 12547 Austin TX 78711 RE: Opinion Sent to James Bradley Warden v. State, No. 03-15-00298-CR & 03-15-00299- CR I represent the appellant, Mr. Warden, in the above styled and numbered cause. This Court has issued an opinion in this case. Under Rule 48.4, Tex. R. App. Proc., attorneys in criminal appeals are required to send a copy of the opinion to the appellant. He must also inform the appellant of the right to file a pro se Petition for Discretionary Review. This is required to be sent by certified mail within five (5) days after the opinion is handed down. Rule 48.4, supra, also requires the attorney send the Court of Appeals a letter certifying his compliance with the rule and attaching a copy of the return receipt within the time for filing a motion for rehearing. Please find attached a copy of the letter sent to Mr. Warden and a copy of the return receipt. A copy of the Court's opinion was attached to that letter. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please contact me if you have any questions or need additional documentation. Very truly yours, Ken Mahaffey enc.