Enrique Arochi v. State ( 2016 )

Order entered December 20, 2016
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-16-01208-CR
ENRIQUE AROCHI, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 401st Judicial District Court
Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 401-80513-2015
ORDER
The Court has before it Steven R. Miears’s December 1, 2016 letter which we shall treat
as a motion to reconsider his November 14, 2016 motion for emergency relief.
On January 16, 2015, Keith Gore was appointed to serve as lead defense counsel for
appellant during trial. Mr. Miears was appointed co-defense counsel. After appellant was
convicted and sentenced, a motion for new trial was filed October 7, 2016, and six days later,
Mr. Miears filed a notice of appeal and docketing statement in this Court.
On October 31, 2016, the trial court signed an order appointing Pamela Lakatos as
appellate counsel. By letter dated November 8, 2016, Mr. Miears notified the trial court that he
had filed appellant’s notice of appeal but had not filed a motion to withdraw as counsel. Mr.
Miears noted he intended to represent appellant on appeal and asked the trial court to rescind its
October 31, 2016 order appointing Ms. Lakatos.
Mr. Miears then filed an emergency motion in this Court, asking us to strike the trial
court’s October 31, 2016 order appointing Ms. Lakatos. We declined to do so, noting that the
trial court had not yet ruled on his November 8 request. The trial court subsequently denied Mr.
Miears’s request, noting “Pursuant to the Texas Fair Defense Act, Mr. Miears is not on the
approved Appeal Court Appointment List.” Mr. Miears then filed a letter, asking this Court to
reconsider its previous ruling.
In his motion to reconsider the emergency motion, trial counsel asks this Court to “enter
an Order to immediately confirm and clarify for the Appellant that Mr. Miears continues to
represent Appellant . . ..” In support, he relies on the “argument, authorities, and rules of
appellate procedure set forth” in his original emergency motion.
Article 26.04 provides that:
[t]he judges of the county courts, statutory county courts, and district courts trying
criminal cases in each county, by local rule, shall adopt and publish written countywide
procedures for timely and fairly appointing counsel for an indigent defendant in the
county arrested for, charged with, or taking an appeal from a conviction of a
misdemeanor punishable by confinement or a felony.
TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 26.04(a) (West 2016). Under this rule, each county has a
public appointment list containing “the names of the qualified attorneys” who have met the
qualifications and applied to be included on the list. Id. art 26.04(d). Although appellant’s lead
defense counsel, Mr. Gore, appears on the Collin County Texas Fair Defense Act list of
participating attorneys list, Mr. Miears does not. Ms. Lakatos is included on the list and is
approved to be appointed as appellate counsel. Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude
the trial court erred.
We DENY Mr. Miears’s motion. The trial court’s October 31, 2016 order appointing
Pamela Lakatos as appellate counsel remains in effect.
/s/ CAROLYN WRIGHT
CHIEF JUSTICE