Nomathemba Y. Sitawisha v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 5, 2015
• Docket: 01-14-00848-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 01-14-00848-CR FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 2/5/2015 3:22:32 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK

IN THE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS NOMATHEMBA SITAWISHA § CASE NO. 2/5/2015 01-14-00848-CR 3:22:32 PM § CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE § Clerk VS. § On Appeal From Harris County § Cause No. 1870305 § County Court at Law #4 THE STATE OF TEXAS §

APPELLANT’S MOTION TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE APPELLATE BRIEF

Appellant, Nomathemba Sitawisha, moves for an extension of time to file her

appellate brief, under TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b).

I. TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

On October 1, 2014, a judge sentenced Ms. Sitawisha to 105 days county jail

after a jury found her guilty of driving while intoxicated. Defendant filed notice of

appeal on October 1, 2014.

II. PROCEEDINGS IN THIS COURT

The Appellant’s brief was due yesterday, February 4, 2015. Counsel was sick

and unable to work yesterday, so is filing this motion on February 5, 2015. No

previous extensions have been requested.

III.

Since the record was completed, counsel has missed several days of work due

to recurrent episodes of the flu. Counsel also has been working to complete briefs in Reginald Hill v. State, Cause No. 14-14-00376-CR, which is subject to abatement if not

filed on February 20, 2015; in In re: M.I.S., Cause No. 01-14-00684-CV, which has

been pending longer than Ms. Sitawisha’s case; and to complete petitions for

discretionary review in Charles Henry Jones v. State, Cause No. 01-13-00984-CR, a

murder case; and Michael Jermaine Williams v. State, Cause No. PD-0096-15, a complex

Fourth Amendment case.

IV.

In the exercise of due diligence, counsel was unable to complete Ms.

Sitawisha’s brief by the deadline, and needs an additional 30 days to file it, due to the

number of upcoming deadlines in older cases. This motion is not filed for purposes of

delay, but so that justice may be done.

PRAYER

Appellant respectfully requests that this motion be granted and that the Court

permit an extension of time until March 7, 2015 to file Appellant’s brief.

Respectfully submitted,

ALEXANDER BUNIN Chief Public Defender Harris County Texas

/s/ Cheri Duncan ______________________________ CHERI DUNCAN Assistant Public Defender 2 Harris County Texas SBN 06210500 1201 Franklin, 13th Floor Houston Texas 77002 (713) 368-0016 (713) 368-9278 (Fax) cheri.duncan@pdo.hctx.net

Attorney for Appellant, NOMATHEMBA SITAWISHA

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Appellate

Brief was served electronically on the Appellate Division of the Harris County District

Attorney’s Office, 1201 Franklin St, 6th Floor, Houston, TX on February 5, 2015.

/s/ Cheri Duncan ____________________________________ CHERI DUNCAN