Amilpas, Jose

• Court: Texas Supreme Court
• Decided: November 18, 2015
• Docket: PD-0614-15
• Status: Published

Opinion

PD-0614-15 in the RECEIVED IN COORT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OP TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

NOV 18 2015 NO. PD-

Abel Acosta, Clerk FILEDIN JOSE AMILPAS,, Petitioner-Appellant COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

THE STATE OP TEXAS< Respondent-Appellee Abel Acosta, Clerk

On Petition For Discretionary Review Of Appeal No. 01-14-00053-CR In The Appellate Court For The First Appellate District At Houston

PETITIONER *,S MOTION REQUESTING LBA'fjE OP COURT TO FILE ONLY TEE ORIGINAL OF HIS PETITION AND BRIEF

TO THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE COURT:

INTO COURT comes Jose Amilpas ("ABoilpas*'), Petitioner pro se in this ac

tion, to respectfully request leave of Court to file the originals only of all instruments and papers filed in this appeal. In support of this notion/ Amilpas

would show the Court the following:

I.

Amilpas is proceeding in propria persona in this appeal/ because he is in digent and unable to retain an attorney. He also has no funds or means of hav ing xerographic copies made of papers to be filed. Additionally/ the prison's law library provides ONLY five (5) sheets of carbon paper each week to inmates who are indigent/ and those five sheets are not sufficient for making the total number of carbon copies required. See EXHIBIT A — Indigent Supply Request Form

(highlited portion).

II.

The Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure require that an original: and!eleven

(11) copies of the Petition For Discretionary Review ("POR®) and brief (if a PDR

-1- * is granted) be filed. See TEX. R. APP. PROC. ANN. 9.3(b)(1) (Vernon's 2013). Ad ditionally/ Amilpas must serve a carbon copy on the District Attorney of Harris County (id,/ at 9-?5(a)); the State Prosecuting Attorney (id./ at 68.11); and al

so a copy for himself and one for the paralegal (jailhouse lawyer) who is assis

ting him.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice does EBQT permit inmates to use any

of the Agency's equipment or materials to make xerographic duplications of legal

documents/ or copies of documents an inmate has prepared for filing — not even

where an inmate is indigent. Amilpas does not have an outside source for having

copies made/ and he lacks the funds to have copies made through a vendor. Holly

v. Anderson/ 467 F.3d 1120/ 1122 (8th Cir. 2006) (noting that indigent unrepres

ented parties in the custody of the state/ "likely [do] not have a means to make

additional copies of [their] pleadings.'").

III.

Rule 2 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that a court may allow

a rule to be waived or suspended in the interest of justice or for expediting an

appeal; and Rule 9.3(a)(2) allows a court of appeals to permit a party to file only the original of "any document." This Court usually does not require an in digent prisoner to file duplicate copies of his PDR/ and has permitted that the original only be filed. See/ e.g./ Carbajal v. State/ PD-0789-07 (Tex.Crim.App. May 30/ 2007) (Rule 9.3(b) T.R.A.P. suspended where appellant is an indigent pro se prisoner); Canton v. State/ PD-0084-13 (Tex.Crim.App. Jan. 28/ 2013) (same); PRAYER

WHEREFORE/ PREMISES CONSIDERED/ Amilpas respectfully prays that this Court

will grant this motion/ and will permit him to file only the original of his PDR and any other instruments in the event the PDR is granted.

Respectfully submitted*

-2- JOSE AMILPAS/ Petitioner-Appellant Robertson Unit/ TDCJ No. 1908295 12071 FM 3522 ' Abilene, Texas 79601-8799

VERIFICATION BY UNSWORN DECLARATION

I, Jose Amilpas/ TDCJ-CID No. 1908295/ being presently incarcerated at the Robertson Unit of the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice/ declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

EXECUTED on this, the NINETEENTH day of OCTOBER, 2015.

isAsk tteOdJkVJhA/ JOSE AMILPAS

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify and declare that a true arid correct carbon copy of the a- bove and attached PETITIONER'S MDTI0N REQUESTING LEAVE OF COURT TO FILE ONLY THE ORIGINAL OF HIS PETITION AND BRIEF/ has been served on the following persons on i

the SIXTH day of NOVEMBER/ 2015/ by placing same into the prison's internal Le- gal Mail System under the Prison Mailbox Rule/ for delivery by regular U.S. Pos tal Service first class mail/ enclosed in postpaid and properly addressed envel- opes, mailed to:

Ms Jessica Caird, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Harris County Criminal District Attorney 1201 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77002* and

Ms. Lisa McMinn, Esq. Stdte Prosecuting Attorney P.O. Box 13046 — Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711-3046

DATED: 05 NOVEMBER 2015 Qz^^'^-jM/JjO^L-J JOSE AMILPAS

-3- Indigent Supply Request Form Failure to complete thisform correctly may result in you not receiving the supplies you requested. (Print Clearly)

NAME: TDCJ#: DATE:

SIGNATURE: HOUSING:

You must utilize and exhaust your previous issuance prior to completing a new request for supplies. Justification to receive the below requested supplies must be placed on the back of this form (e.g. already exhausted previously -issued supplies, active litigation and/or cause number, etc.). DO NOT WRITE in the "Issued" column (law library use only).

Personal Supplies Legal Requested Issued Requested Issued

Paper Carbon Paper (issued for legal only, exchange required) Business Envelope (may not exceed 5 per week) Writ Envelope (requires justification) Pen (exchange required)

# of letters # of letters . @ $.45 requesting requesting postage postage

@

1-302 (Rev. 01/12)

EXHIBIT A