Ricks, Cedric Allen ( 2015 )

AP-77,040 COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS FILED IN COURT OF CRIMINALAPPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS Transmitted 7/20/2015 11:45:01 AM July 20, 2015 Accepted 7/20/2015 12:21:35 PM ABEL ACOSTA ABEL ACOSTA, CLERK CAUSE NO. AP-77.040 CLERK * CEDRIC ALLEN RICKS IN THE COURT OF Appellant * * CRIMINALAPPEALS * THE STATE OF TEXAS * IN AUSTIN, TEXAS Appellee FOURTH MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE APPELLANT'S BRIEF COMES NOW, CEDRIC ALLEN RICKS, Appellant, by and through his attorney, MARY B. THORNTON, and files this his Fourth Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Brief in the above styled and numbered cause requesting an additional fourteen (14) days and in support of his motion would show this Honorable Court as follows: Appellant was reindicted for the offense of capital murder in cause number 1361004R on February 28,2014. His case was assigned to the 371st Judicial District Court in Tarrant County, Texas. Appellant pleaded not guilty before a jury on May 5, 2014. On May 7,2014, the jury found Appellant guilty of the offense as charged in the State's indictment. On May 16,2014, the jury answered Special Issue No. 1 "yes," and Special Issue No. 2 "no." As a result the trial court sentenced Appellant to Death as required by law. Pursuant to Rule 38.6 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure Appellant's brief was originally due to be filed in this Honorable Court on Tuesday, January 20, 2015. Three motions for extension of time have been requested by Appellant and granted by this Honorable Court for approximately six months, rendering Appellant's brief due on Monday, April 20,2015, Wednesday, June 17,2015, and Monday, July 20, 2015. IV. Over the past thirty days, with a few exceptions, counsel has worked exclusively on writing Appellant's brief, including the weekends. Seven points of error have been written and entered onto the computer. The other approximately thirteen points of error have been researched and partially written. Counsel is in the process of finalizing them and putting them on the computer. Counsel for Appellant has had a small number of new appointments that have taken portions of her time over the preceding thirty-three days. Counsel has also had to spend some additional time on a case that counsel believed that she had worked out and would settle via a plea bargain agreement. The case of The State of Texas v Sherman Peter Williams in cause number 1368762D presently pending in the 213th Judicial District Court in Tarrant County has caused counsel for Appellant additional work that she did not anticipate. Sherman is indicted for the offense of causing serious bodily injury to a family member with the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, to wit: a knife. Counsel and her investigator have had to spend three additional afternoons visiting with Sherman in order to communicate a generous plea bargain offer. Based upon Sherman's mental health counsel had to have him examined for competency and has had to work on some subpoenas involving psychiatric records in preparation for a probable upcoming jury trial. In essence Sherman has done an about face and has requested a jury trial. His case likely will be reached for trial on the next contest setting on Monday, October 5, 2015. Counsel for Appellant also needs to prepare for trial on three other cases that are set in various courts. One is an aggravated robbery with the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, cause number 1405089D out of the 432nd Judicial District Court in Tarrant County, Texas which will move to the Trial Docket after this afternoon, the second is an aggravated sexual assault of a child under fourteen years of age with a sexual offender notice with the State seeking a Life sentence in cause number 1383820D out of the 297th Judicial District Court in Tarrant County, Texas set for trial on Friday, September 25,2015, and the third is an intoxication manslaughter in cause number 1403722D, which is set on the Status Conference Docket of the 213th Judicial District Court on Friday, August 7,2015. (The Status Conference Docket is the last one prior to the Trial Docket under the Felony Case Management system utilized by the Criminal District Judges in Tarrant County, Texas). Counsel for Appellant must complete and get Appellant's brief filed no later than fourteen days from today in order to work up the above cases for probable jury trials. It appears that Appellant's brief will contain around twenty points of error. Like counsel stated above, all of these points have been researched and partially written. Counsel for Appellant needs to complete the writing and the application of the facts of this case to those arguments. Therefore, counsel for Appellant requests this fourth extension of time for fourteen (14) days not for purposes of delay but because it is necessary in order to render Appellant his constitutionally mandated effective assistance of counsel pursuant to the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Const, and art. 1, sec. 9 of the Tex. Const. Counsel for Appellant guarantees that no further extensions of time will be needed to complete Appellant's brief. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellant respectfully prays that this Honorable Court grant his Fourth Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's brief in the above styled and numbered cause for fourteen (14) days and extend the deadline for filing Appellant's brief to Monday, August 3, 2015. Respectfully submitted, /s/Mary B. Thornton MARY B. THORNTON Attorney for Appellant 3901 Race Street Fort Worth, Texas 76111 Telephone No.: (817) 759-0400 Telecopier No.: (817) 831-3002 Email: marybrabson01@gmail.com State Bar #19713700 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 20th day of July, 2015, a true and correct copy of the above motion was electronically served on the Hon. Debra Windsor, Chief of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office Post Conviction, Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, Fourth Floor, 401 West Belknap, Fort Worth, Texas, 76196, at COAAppellateAlerts@tarrantcounty.com. /s/Mary B. Thornton MARY B. THORNTON