Christopher Williams v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 24, 2023
• Docket: 06-22-00142-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-22-00142-CR

CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 272nd District Court Brazos County, Texas Trial Court No. 19-01071-CRF-272

Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ. ORDER

Christopher Williams appeals his conviction of burglary of a habitation with the intent to

commit a sexually assaultive offense and the resulting life sentence. In connection with his

appeal, Williams has filed a motion in this Court explaining that the trial court sealed juror

questionnaires and removed them from the district clerk’s office. 1 As a result, the questionnaires

were not and cannot be filed as part of the appellate record. Williams further explained his need

to access the sealed questionnaires for the purpose of raising a Batson 2 point of error on appeal.

In light of Williams’s appeal, the sealed juror questionnaires must be filed in this Court.

Accordingly, we order the Brazos County District Clerk to file the juror questionnaires in this

Court, under seal, on or before Friday, January 27, 2023.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

BY THE COURT

Date: January 24, 2023

1 The trial court’s order states, in pertinent part, “[T]he records attached to this order are sealed and may not be electronically imaged, examined, reviewed or copied by anyone, except upon written order of this court or any appellate court that may acquire jurisdiction over this case.”

2 Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). 2