Case 7:15-mc-01759 Document 1 Filed in TXSD on 10/30/15 Page 1 of 4 WR-71,401-01
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Transmitted 10/30/2015 2:40:53 PM
Accepted 10/30/2015 4:12:40 PM
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ABEL ACOSTA
CLERK
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
MCALLEN DIVISION
JUAN RAUL NAVARRO RAMIREZ )
October 30, 2015
)
Petitioner, )
)
v. ) No.
)
WILLIAM STEPHENS, Director, ) Capital Case
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, )
Correctional Institutions Division, )
)
Respondent. )
__________________________________________)
ADVISORY CONCERNING IMPENDING CASE
AND APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
Petitioner, JUAN RAUL NAVARRO RAMIREZ, by undersigned counsel,
respectfully advises the Court of the following:
1. In December, 2004, Petitioner was convicted of two counts of capital
murder and sentence to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed
Petitioner's conviction on one of the counts of capital murder and his death sentence
on December 12, 2007. Ramirez v. State, No. AP-75,167.
2. On October 14, 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied
Petitioner's applications for habeas relief.
3. Counsel originally appointed to represent Petitioner in state habeas
corpus proceedings failed to file an application for post-conviction writ of habeas
corpus, necessitating appointment of new counsel for Petitioner. However, in the
course of the delay caused by the failure of original state habeas counsel to file a
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Case 7:15-mc-01759 Document 1 Filed in TXSD on 10/30/15 Page 2 of 4
habeas application, Petitioner's one-year federal statute of limitations began to run.
The statute was tolled when a state habeas application was eventually filed by new
state habeas counsel, but substantial time ran on the federal statute of limitations.
4. For this reason, as of the date the Court of Criminal Appeals denied
Petitioner's state habeas applications, October 14, 2015, Mr. Ramirez had only 97
days remaining in his federal statute of limitations.
5. The Texas Office for Capital and Forensic Writs represented Petitioner
at the time his state habeas application was denied. This office is statutorily
precluded from representing its clients in federal habeas proceedings. Accordingly,
we have asked counsel with the Texas Habeas Assistance and Training (TX HAT)
project to try to recruit counsel willing to undertake Petitioner's federal habeas
representation.1 This has been made extremely difficult because of the short time
remaining on the federal statute of limitations.
6. Despite the inherent challenge of locating counsel willing to represent a
habeas petitioner in a matter with an abbreviated statute of limitations, TX HAT
counsel have been successful in recruiting highly qualified counsel willing to
undertake Petitioner's representation: the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public
Defender for the District of Arizona. In order to move for appointment of this office,
however, the standard protocol for appointment in an out-of-district case must be
1TX HAT is a project funded through the Administrative Office of the Courts, Office for
Defender Services, to provide consulting services to counsel appointed in federal capital habeas
proceedings. Its members are experienced capital habeas attorneys who contract with the
Administrative Office to provide these services. Part of their work includes recruiting qualified
counsel for appointment in federal habeas proceedings.
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followed. That protocol is now underway and should be complete within two weeks.
At that point, undersigned counsel will move for the appointment of the Capital
Habeas Unit. Undersigned counsel has been assured that the Capital Habeas Unit
of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona will be authorized to take
the appointment in Petitioner's case at the conclusion of the ongoing protocol.
7. Current counsel for Petitioner is advising this Court of this matter now
to comply with his statutory duty to seek appointment of federal habeas counsel in a
timely manner, and to advise the Court of the status of Petitioner's case and his
impending request for appointment of counsel.
Respectfully Submitted,
October 30, 2015 /s/ Benjamin B. Wolff
Benjamin B. Wolff
Texas Bar #: 24091608
S.D. Tex. ID No. 2367246
Director, Office of Capital & Forensic Writs
1700 Congress Ave., Suite 460
Austin, TX 78701
Benjamin.Wolff@ocfw.texas.gov
(512)463-8600
(512)463-8590 (fax)
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
On October 30, 2015, a copy of the foregoing Motion was served on the Office
of the Attorney General by United States mail at the following address:
Office of the Attorney General
Post Office Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548.
/s/ Benjamin B. Wolff
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