Christopher Arthur Kurtz v. State

Opinion

ACCEPTED 03-15-00144-CR 7320868 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 10/9/2015 5:35:52 PM JEFFREY D. KYLE CLERK NO. 03-15-00144-CR

CHRISTOPHER ARTHUR KURTZ § IN THE THIRD FILED IN 3rd COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS vs. § DISTRICT 10/9/2015 COURT5:35:52 OF PM JEFFREY D. KYLE THE STATE OF TEXAS § APPEALS OF TEXAS Clerk

STATE’S FOURTH & FINAL MOTION TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE BRIEF

TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF SAID COURT:

Now comes the State of Texas, Appellee in the above-styled and -numbered

cause, and moves for an extension of time of 28 days to file Appellee’s brief, and

for good cause would show the following:

I.

Appellant was indicted for Aggravated Kidnapping, Evading Arrest with a

Vehicle and two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence on July 2, 2014. All

four counts were enhanced to habitual status. The jury convicted Appellant of

Aggravated Kidnapping, Evading Arrest with a Vehicle and one of the Tampering

counts. The jury assessed punishment at 70 years confinement for the Aggravated

Kidnapping, 75 years for Evading Arrest, and 30 years for Tampering, to be served

concurrently.

Appellant’s brief was originally due with the Court on or about April 23,

2015. After this Court granted Appellant’s motion for extension, Appellant filed a

1 brief on June 5, 2015 related to the Aggravated Kidnapping count. Counsel for

Appellant subsequently filed an Anders brief related to the Evading Arrest and

Tampering convictions on June 9, 2015. The State’s brief is currently due on

October 9, 2015. Appellant’s pro se brief was due on July 24, 2015.

II.

Clayten Hearrell – the attorney for the State at trial – is handling this case on

appeal. From September 7th to September 15th, Mr. Hearrell tried a case involving

two counts of Sexual Assault of a Child in CR2011-575. He tried another Sexual

Assault of a Child case from September 14th through the 23rd, while the jury was

still deliberating on the previous trial. He then had a trial in CR2014-530 involving

an Aggravated Kidnapping from October 5th to October 9th. In the middle of that

trial, he appeared for oral argument before the Court in 03-14-00570-CR.

Additionally, this week he is set to try CR2011-118, and the punishment hearing in

following a guilty verdict in CR2011-575 will take place beginning October 19th.

While Mr. Hearrell has performed some of the work on the brief, he needs to

review video evidence submitted at trial, and he has not yet been able to complete

the State’s brief in the instant cause. In light of the foregoing, the State respectfully

requests an extension of 28 days to file its brief. This is the fourth and final

extension sought by Appellee.

2 III.

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the State’s counsel

respectfully prays for an extension of 28 days, until November 6, 2015, so that an

adequate response may be made to Appellant’s brief. This extension is not

requested for purposes of delay but so that justice may be done.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Joshua D. Presley Joshua D. Presley Assistant District Attorney SBN: 24088254 preslj@co.comal.tx.us 150 N. Seguin Avenue, Suite 307 New Braunfels, Texas 78130 Phone: (830) 221-1300 Fax: (830) 608-2008

3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, Joshua D. Presley, Assistant District Attorney for the State of Texas,

Appellee, hereby certify that a true and correct copy of this State’s Fourth & Final

Motion to Extend Time to File Brief has been delivered to Appellant

CHRISTOPHER ARUTHER KURTZ’s attorney in this matter:

John G. Jasuta lawyer1@johnjasuta.com 1801 East 51st St. Austin, TX 78723 Attorney for Appellant on Appeal

By electronically sending it to the above-listed email address through

efile.txcourts.gov, this 9th day of October, 2015.

/s/ Joshua D. Presley Joshua D. Presley