Burns, Ari Michael

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 2, 2015·No. WR-83,370-02·Published

Opinion

WR-83,370-02

WR-83,370-01

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

Transmitted 6/2/2015 1:09:33 PM Accepted 6/2/2015 1:25:26 PM ABEL ACOSTA

No. CLERK

RECEIVED

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS 6/2/2015 ABEL ACOSTA, CLERK

In Re Ari Michael Burns, Relator

PETITION FOR WRITS

OF MANDAMUS AND PROHIBITION

In the Matter of Enforcement of the Michael Morton Act and the Prohibition Against Imposition of Conditions of Discovery

under Article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

KEITH S. HAMPTON MCKINLEY MELANCON Attorney at Law Attorney at Law State Bar No. 08873230 State Bar No. 24084323 1103 Nueces Street 1307 Nueces Street Austin, Texas 78701 Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 476-8484 (o) (512) 954-0726 (o) (512) 477-3580 (f) (512) 382-1482 (f) (512) 762-6170 (c) (832) 866-0506 (c) keithshampton@gmail.com melancon@gmail.com

ATTORNEYS FOR RELATORS

NAMES OF ALL PARTIES

Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 52.2, Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure,

a complete list of the names of all parties to this original appellate action seeking extraordinary relief and counsel are as follows:

Parties: Ari Michael Burns, Relator and Real Party in Interest

Rosemary Lehmberg, Travis County District Attorney, Respondent

Counsel: Keith S. Hampton 1103 Nueces Street

Austin, Texas 78701

McKinley Melancon

Attorney at Law

1307 Nueces Street

Austin, Texas 78701

Rosemary Lehmberg

Scott Taliaferro

Travis County District Attorney’s Office P.O. Box 1748

Austin, Texas 78767

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Names of All Parties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

List of Authorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Statement of the Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Restraint.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Statement of Jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Issue Presented: Respondent should be compelled to provide discovery “as soon as practicable,” as required by the Texas discovery statute, and should be prohibited from withholding discovery until indictment... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Statement of Facts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Argument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Certification of Factual Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Certificate of Service and Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Rule 8.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Opinion 646 of the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar Reporter’s Record Affidavit

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

CASES PAGE

De Leon v. Aguilar, 127 S.W.3d 1 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Dodson v. State, 988 S.W.2d 833 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 1999, no pet.). . . . . . 2 Ex parte Chi, 256 S.W.3d 702 (Tex.Crim.App. 2008). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ex parte Robinson, 641 S.W.2d 552 (Tex.Crim.App. 1982). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 In re Bonilla, 424 S.W.3d 528 (Tex.Crim.App. 2014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 In re State ex rel. Weeks, 391 S.W.3d 117 (Tex.Crim.App. 2013).. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS, STATUTES AND RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

Tex. Const. art. V, Sec. 12(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tex. Code Crim. Pro. art.4.04. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 39.14.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art.44.02. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tex. Gov’t Code §22.221(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 4 Tex. R. App. Proc. 25.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tex. R. App. Proc. 52. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Tex. R. App. Proc. 72. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tex. Comm. on Prof’l Ethics, Op. 646 (2014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof’l Conduct 8.04. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS:

Comes now Ari Michael Burns, Relator, and pursuant to Rules 52 and 72 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, files this Petition for Writs of Mandamus and Prohibition to compel Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, Respondent, to comply with Article 39.14’s requirement that discovery be provided “as soon as practicable” after request from defense counsel and to prohibit the denial of discovery until Respondent’s own arbitrarily-chosen date.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Relator’s undersigned attorney, McKinley Melancon, requested discovery pursuant to Article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on December 12, 2014, and again on April 2, 2015. To date, Respondent Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg has withheld discovery. On May 28, 2015, the assistant Travis County district attorney informed Relator’s counsel, Keith S. Hampton, that it was Respondent’s policy to provide discovery only after indictment. Relator seeks relief from this Court to enforce the ministerial duty of Respondent to provide discovery “as soon as practicable,” as so plainly required by statute. Relator also seeks relief from this Court to permanently terminate the policy of denial of discovery until the

prosecution decides to seek an indictment.

RESTRAINT

Applicant is being restrained in his liberty by the requirement of appearance to court as a condition of bond. Applicant is therefore under restraint. Ex parte Robinson, 641 S.W.2d 552 (Tex.Crim.App. 1982).

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION This Court has jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus in this cause under Article 5 §5(c) of the Texas Constitution, Article 4.04 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Rule 52 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Only this Court can grant relief because the appellate courts have no original jurisdiction to issues writs of mandamus against district attorneys. Dodson v. State, 988 S.W.2d 833, 835 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 1999, no pet.); Tex. Gov’t Code §22.221(b).

ISSUE PRESENTED

Respondent should be compelled to provide discovery “as soon as practicable,”

as required by the Texas discovery statute, and should be prohibited from withholding discovery until indictment.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Respondent has withheld discovery requested pursuant to Article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure because, as the assistant district attorney said, “If it’s unindicted, we won’t send discovery out until it is indicted.” (RR, p. 4)(attached).

ARGUMENT

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Burns, Ari Michael, (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

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Related

De Leon v. Aguilar
127 S.W.3d 1 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Ex Parte Chi
256 S.W.3d 702 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2008)
Dodson v. State
988 S.W.2d 833 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Ex Parte Robinson
641 S.W.2d 552 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1982)
In Re STATE of Texas Ex Rel. David P. WEEKS
391 S.W.3d 117 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Bonilla, Rosali
424 S.W.3d 528 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2014)