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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.
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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
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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
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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. ·
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C.c. file/lv
Vasquez, Leonardo
Combined Opinion