Brown, Patrick Marcel ( 2015 )

PD-0761-15 COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS Transmitted 7/31/2015 12:37:06 PM Accepted 7/31/2015 3:23:35 PM No. PD-0761-15 ABEL ACOSTA CLERK IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS PATRICK MARCEL BROWN Appellant July 31, 2015 v. THE STATE OF TEXAS Appellee MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW Pursuant to Rule 68.10 of the Texas Rules OF Appellate Procedure, Appellant seeks leave to amend the petition for discretionary review filed in this case in order to correct an inadvertent oversight in the original petition. Petitioner seeks to amend the petition to amend the Statement of Case to provide a brief summary of the case and to re-title the current Statement of the Case as the Statement of Procedural History, as reflected below: STATEMENT OF THE CASE Patrick Brown, Appellant, was charged with falsely holding himself out as a lawyer in the context of helping the complaining witness with a real estate transaction that appeared to be falling through. The complaining witness believed that Appellant was a lawyer and made several statements to that effect. While Appellant did not correct these misstatements, he did not specifically tell the complaining witness that he was a lawyer, was licensed to practice law, or otherwise represent himself to be a lawyer. Appellant was convicted on the theory that he violated Section 38.122 by failing to correct the complaining witness’s misunderstanding and acting in a manner which could be considered consistent with the complaining witness’s misunderstanding. Appellant challenges the interpretation of Section 38.122 that would justify Appellant’s conviction without explicitly requiring him to represent that he was a lawyer to the complaining witness and the breadth of Section 38.122. STATEMENT OF PROCEDURAL HISTORY On March 27, 2013 in the 262nd District Court of Harris County, Texas, Appellant was indicted for falsely holding oneself out as a lawyer. (C.R. at 13). After a trial by jury, Appellant was convicted of falsely holding oneself out as a lawyer and the jury assessed punishment at 5 years in prison (C.R. at 970-971). On August 30, 2013, Appellant filed timely notice of appeal. On May 28, 2015, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed Appellant’s conviction in a published opinion. WHEREFORE, Appellant prays this court grant this motion and substitute the Amended Petition for Discretionary Review for the incorrectly formatted Petition for Discretionary Review. Respectfully submitted, ALEXANDER BUNIN Chief Public Defender Harris County Texas /s/ Nicolas Hughes NICOLAS HUGHES Assistant Public Defender Harris County Texas 1201 Franklin Street, 13th Floor Houston Texas 77002 (713) 368-0016 (713) 386-9278 fax TBA No. 24059981 nicolas.hughes@pdo.hctx.net CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that a copy of this Petition for Discretionary Review has been served upon the Harris County District Attorney's Office — Appellate Section and the State Prosecuting Attorney, on this the July 31, 2015 by electronic service. /s/ Nicolas Hughes NICOLAS HUGHES Assistant Public Defender