Roy Vasquez v. State

ACCEPTED 01-15-00183-CR FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 9/18/2015 2:30:31 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK No. 01-15-00183-CR In the FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals HOUSTON, TEXAS For the 9/18/2015 2:30:31 PM First District of Texas CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk At Houston  No. 1437421 In the 230th Criminal District Court Of Harris County, Texas  ROY VASQUEZ Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS Appellee  STATE’S MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME IN WHICH TO FILE APPELLATE BRIEF  TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS: COMES NOW THE STATE OF TEXAS, appellee, in accordance with Rules 10.5(b)(1) and 38.6(d) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, and files this motion for extension of time in which to file the State’s brief in this case, and, in support thereof, presents the following: Page 1 of 5 1. In the 230th Criminal District Court of Harris County, Texas, in cause number 1437421, the State charged appellant by indictment with sexual assault in The State of Texas v. Roy Vasquez. 2. A jury found appellant guilty as charged in the indictment and assessed his punishment at confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, for seventeen years and a $10,000 fine. 3. The trial court sentenced appellant in accordance with the jury’s verdict on February 12, 2015, and certified appellant’s right of appeal. 4. Appellant timely filed written notice of appeal on February 17, 2015. 5. Appellant filed his appellate brief with this Court on July 31, 2015. 6. The State’s appellate brief was due on August 31, 2015. 7. This is the State’s first request for an extension. 8. The State requests that this Court extend the timeframe for the State to file its appellate brief to October 31, 2015. 9. The facts relied upon to explain the need for this extension are: a. The undersigned attorney was not assigned to this case until September 18, 2015. The undersigned attorney’s supervisor has represented to the undersigned attorney that the delay in assigning this case to the undersigned attorney is because, although appellant filed his brief on July 31, 2015, “we never received a copy” of the Page 2 of 5 brief until September 17, 2015, when an administrative assistant in the Appellate Division “pulled a copy from the COA” website. b. During the timeframe allowed for researching and preparing the State’s appellate brief for this case, the undersigned attorney is also responsible for researching and preparing the State’s appellate briefs in the following cases that are also assigned to her: i. Joe Lee Bowden v. State of Texas; No. 14-14-00955-CR ii. Anthony D. Alford v. State of Texas; No. 14-15-00360-CR iii. Juan Mendoza v. State of Texas; No. 14-15-00537-CR iv. Erick Eduardo Hernandez v. State of Texas; No. 14-15-00209- CR c. And finally, the undersigned attorney has been responsible for responding to numerous questions and requests for assistance from prosecutors in the Trial Bureau of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office regarding matters which were time-sensitive and critical for cases currently in trial. 10.Consequently, the undersigned attorney has been unable to complete the State’s reply brief in this case in the time permitted, despite due diligence, and the requested extension of time is necessary to permit the undersigned Page 3 of 5 attorney to adequately investigate, complete, and file the State’s appellate brief for this cause. 11. The State’s motion is not for purposes of delay, but so that justice may be done. WHEREFORE, the State prays that this Court will grant the State an extension of time, until October 31, 2015, for the undersigned attorney to complete and file the State’s appellate brief in this case. Respectfully submitted, /S/ Melissa Hervey MELISSA P. HERVEY Assistant District Attorney Harris County, Texas State Bar No. 24053741 1201 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone (713) 755-5826 Fax (713) 755-5809 Hervey_Melissa@dao.hctx.net Page 4 of 5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing instrument has been served upon Angela Cameron, appellant’s attorney of record on appeal, on September 18, 2015, at the following e-mail address, through the electronic service system provided by eFile.TXCourts.gov: Angela.Cameron@pdo.hctx.net /S/ Melissa Hervey MELISSA P. HERVEY Assistant District Attorney Harris County, Texas State Bar Number: 24053741 1201 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone (713) 755-5826 Fax (713) 755-5809 Hervey_Melissa@dao.hctx.net Page 5 of 5