Robert James Martin III v. State

ACCEPTED 01-15-00709-CR FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/19/2015 4:03:54 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK NO. 01-15-00709-CR NO. 01-15-00710-CR NO. 01-15-00711-CR FILED IN __________________________________________1st COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS In the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas at Houston, Texas 4:03:54 PM 10/19/2015 ___________________________________________ CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk ROBERT JAMES MARTIN V. THE STATE OF TEXAS ____________________________________________ On appeal from the 149th District Court of Brazoria County, Texas, No. 74428 et al. ___________________________________________ APPELLANT'S EMERGENCY MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS AND REMAND _____________________________________________________ TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS: Robert James Martin, appellant, files this Motion to Stay in this cause, and in support shows the following: 1. Nature of Proceeding. This appeal arises out of a proceeding in the District Court for the 23rd Judicial District of Brazoria County, Texas. Robert James Martin entered a plea of guilty to three counts of aggravated robbery and was sentenced by the trial court to prison terms of 40 years, 40 years, and 10 years. The judgment became final on July 29, 2015. The undersigned counsel was appointed for this appeal on August 20, 2015. Mr. Martin filed a timely Motion for New Trial on August 27, 2015, and timely presented the motion for hearing to the trial court on September 3, 2015. 2. Deadline for Trial Court Action. Mr. Martin’s Motion for New Trial is overruled by operation of law on the 75th day after the judgment was entered (October 12, 2015) TEX. R. APP. PROC. 21.8. The trial court scheduled hearing on this motion for October 15, 2015. The undersigned counsel brought this to the trial court’s attention. The trial court has made docket sheet entries in each case indicating this is the soonest date available to the trial court. The undersigned counsel previously sought a stay in this Court. 3. On October 15, 2015, Mr. Martin was not brought to the trial court for the hearing on the motion for new trial. The trial court issued a bench warrant and reset the hearing to October 20, 2015 at 8:00 AM. 4. Prejudice to Appellant. Holding a hearing in the trial court on a legally moot motion will only serve to complicate the issues in the case. The hearing is necessary to develop evidence regarding the voluntariness of the plea entered by Mr. Martin. Additionally, the court record is not completely prepared and available. 5. Prayer. WHEREFORE, Appellant requests that this Court stay the appeal and remand matters to the trial court so that the proceedings as currently scheduled are timely for appellate purposes. Respectfully submitted, /s/David Ryan DAVID RYAN SBN: 00786412 6161 Savoy Dr., Suite 1116 Houston, Texas 77036 (713)223-9898 FAX (713) 223-8448 Attorney for Appellee DECLARATION My name is David Ryan, I was born on September 11, 1963, and my address is 6161 Savoy Drive, Suite 1116, Houston, Texas 77036. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. I declare under penalty of perjury the facts in the foregoing motion are true and correct. /s/David Ryan DAVID RYAN CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE I, David Ryan, hereby certify that counsel for appellee is not opposed to Appellee’s Motion to Stay. /s/David Ryan DAVID RYAN CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing motion has been served on all counsel of record, on October 19, 2015. /s/ DMR__________ DAVID M. RYAN