\ \ May 16, 2015 Leonardo Vasquez ~3,~aq-oJ TDCJ-CID #1908818 Beto Unit 1391 FM 3328 Tennessee Colony, TX 75880 This cl~eumen~ eon~rns some pages that are of poor quail~ Abel Acosta - Clerk, at tfie tune of lmsgl~. Court of Criminal Appeals P.O. Box 12308 - Capitol Station Austin, TX 78711 RE: Original Filing, AJ?plication . .for Writ .of .Ma,ndamus. /. r ........ , ' . ./ To whom it may concern; Enclosed, please find the original copy of my Application For Writ of r1andamus. Please file this with the court, enter it into the system, and include it with the papers related to this cause. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely yours, c.c. Cameron County District Attorney file/lv RECEIVED ~ECE~VED. ~N COURT OF CRIMINAl · P~AtS ©OORT OF CRIMINA!. A~PEALS MAY MAY 202015 CASE NO: 120}2452 LEONARDO VASQUEZ, #1908818, § IN THE TEXAS COURT Relator, § vs. § OF 138TH·DISTRICT COURT, CAMERON COUNTY, § Respondent. § CRIMINAL.APPEALS RELATOR'S ORIGINAL APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF SAID COURT: COMES NOW, LEONARDO VASQUEZ, "Relator" pro se~in the above-styled and numbered cause and files this Original Applicahon for Writ of Mandamus pursuant to §52.047, Texas Government Code,, and for good cause would respectfully show the Court as follows: r.· JURISDICTION This Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction overthe parties and subject matter in that Relator's cause was a plea agreement and no direct appeal was pursued. II. RELATOR Relator is an offender incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal. Justice and is appearing prose, whocan be located .at: Beto Unit, 1391 FM 3328, Tennessee Colony, TX 75880. Relator has exhausted his remedies and has no other adequate remedy at law. The act sought to be compelled is ministerial, not discretionary in nature. Texas. Government Code, .§54.047(b), requires Respondent to "determine a reasonable fee" for a'copy of the clerk and reporter's record in Relator's cause. III. RESPONDENT Relator was convicted on January 4, 2014 in the !38th Judicial District Court, Cameron County, Texas under cause number 2012-DCR~2913-B by and through a.plea agreement for the offense of Aggravated Kidnapping, (·PC 20.04), and sentenced to 30 years' confinement in the TDCJ~CID. Honorable Arturo c. Nelson, Judge Pre.siding. Respondent can be served at: 974 E. Harrison, Brownsville, TX 78250. -1- IV. VIOLATION OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE §52.047(b) Subsequent. to Relator's conviction, his family sought to acquire the official record in this cause. On December 8, 2014 the Official Court Reporter for Respondent sold an "original and complimentary Copy [of the] Reporter's Record of Punishment hearing held on January 9, 2014. " This purchase, $136 ..oo, (Invoice No. 2014-34) , encompassed only 23 pages; $5.91 per· page. Relator objected to that fee in the form ofa properly filed Motion to Obtain Clerk and Reporter's· Record,. with an accompanying Affidavit of Inability to Pay Costs on January 1St '2015. Per the Rul'es·of Court/Appellate Procedure, Relator served the Cameron .County · District · Attorney with a true and correct copy of the pl~p.?ing. In •that ·motion 'Relator detailed the amount of hearings and documents .. involved-in this cause. (There are seven (7) "Related Cases" involved in Relator's cause. ) ; (See: Case Summary) Further, in Relator '·s motion, an offer of .10¢ per page, a request for a 90-day "loan," or review at the Cameron County Jail of the records in question was detailed in the "Conclusion" section of the motion. "When a properly filed' motion ·is pending before a trial court, the act of giving consideration to and ruling upon that motion is ministeriaL and·mandamus l may issue to compel the trial judge to act."' SAFETY.:.KLEEN v. GARCIA, 945 S.W.2d 268~ 269 (Tex. App •. -San Antonio 1997) · However, mandamus will not issue unless the record indicates that a properly. filed motion has awaited disposition for an unreasonable amount of time." Safety- Kleeni supra, @269. On • March 3, 2015, 3 months after·the motion was filed, Relator submitted a letter of inquiry tothe district clerk of Cameron County seeking "the status of [the] motion. II* After waiting another 45 . days Relator I on April 21, 2015,** again submitted · a letter 6f inquiry .to the Cameron County district clerk detailing the course of events surrounding ·.the attempt; to acquire the official record and, again, asking for ".the status of [the] motion. To this date no response has been forwarded. * Rllat.c:a:" .has ally carl::x:n cx:pies of: the rroticn am.~t.letter:s to the district clerk in his p:ssessim. Relater has oo ao::a::s' to a fh:Jt cate of llpriJ. 21, 2014•. It slu.lld rred "lpril 21, 4)15. II -2- In order to be entitled to mandamus relief, a relator must establish the trial court: 1. "Had a legal duty to perform a non-discretionary act." Texas Gov't. Code §52.047(b) states "If an abjection is made to the amount of transcription fee, the judge SHALL determine a reasonable fee." (emphasis added) 2. "Was asked to perform the act." Relator's motion is properly filed and served on opposing counsel. Relator has diligently pursued the outcome of that motion for well over five (5) months now. 3. "Failed to do so." In Re Molina, 94 s.w. 3d 885, 886 (Tex. App.-San Antonio, 2003) - v. PRAYER FOR RELIEF FOR THESE REASONS, Relator respectfully requests a finding that the Respondent did not "determine a reasonable fee" for a complete copy of the official record in this cause. Relator ·prays for an Order directing Respondent to determine a reasonable fee for a copy of the Clerk and Reporter's Record, and to further and such other relief to which Relator shows himself entitled to. Vasquez, Relator, Pro Se UNSWORN .DECLARATION "I, Leonardo· Vasquez, TDCJ-CID #1908818, being presently incarcerated in the Beto Unit of the TDCJ-CID, declare under penalty ·Of perjury that the above and foregoing are both true and correct." Executedon this the 16th day of CERTIFICATE'OF'SERVICE This is to further certify that i have mailed a true and·correct copy of this document to the Cameron County District Attorney, First Class MaiL postage prepaid, by placing the same in 'the Beto Unit's mail drop-box, des'gned for that purpose, on this the 16th day of May, 2015. · -3- C.c. file/lv