Princella v. Ross-Steels v. State of Texas

Opinion

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JUDGE SUSAN HAWK Criminal District attorney Dallas County, Texas

FILED IN

March 2, 2015 'ST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON. TEXAS

Ms. Princella Valentine Steels JUN -1 2015 TDCJ No. 01926484 CHRISTOPHER a. PRINE

William P. Hobby Unit CLERK.

742 FM 712 Marlin,TX 76661

RE: State ofTexas vs. Princella Valentine Steels; Case no. 141604701010 Conviction in Harris County

Dear Ms. Steels:

The Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office is in receipt of your letter dated February 18, 2015 regarding your conviction in Harris County.

Please be advised that our office only reviews cases that are in Dallas County.

The CIU is part of the District Attorney's Office, by law we do not represent individuals and cannot provide legal advice. As you are aware, you are free to seek the help of private counsel or contact ah innocence project regarding your case.

Otherwise, the Innocence Project of Texas has been established to look into matters where an inmate claims that they were wrongfully convicted. I don't know whether your claim fits within the criteria they have established for investigating claims. However, we have forwarded your letter to the address below and have retained copies for our records.

Innocence Project of Texas 1511 Texas Avenue Lubbock, Texas 79401

I hope this information proves helpful in your future endeavors. Thank you.

Sincerely,

CYftlHlA R. GARZA Assistant District Attorney Conviction Integrity Unit Dallas County, Texas

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Frank CrowleyCourtsBuilding, 133 North Riverfront Boulevard, LB-19Dallas, Texas 75207-4399 (214) 653-3600

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C E N T U RI O MTU INISTRIES

March 17,2015

Ms. Princella Steels ID# 1926484 742 FM 712 Hobby Unit L-l 01 Marlin,TX 76661-4685

Dear Ms. Steels,

We have reviewed your letter and regret to inform you that your case does not fit our criteria. We only take on murder and rape cases carrying life or death sentences, a policy instituted due to the great demand for our work and the realization that we simply cannot help everyone. We consider a life sentence to be 15 years before parole eligibility.

Even though Centurion Ministries cannot assist you, if you plan to fight your conviction, it is important that you obtainyourtrial fifa from yourtrial lawyer. Yourtrial file is the file of materials your lawygrhad in advance of your trial. The file should contain police reports, forensic reports, witness statements, and pre-trial motions. It is vital that you obtain this file and those materials^You will need them to work on your case^ ' ' "——-^—.

It also wouldbe beneficial for you to see what the Freedom of Information (FOIA or FOIL) laws are for your state. It is advisable to submit a request to the various relevant agencies for files relating to your case and the crime you were convicted of. The prison law library will contain information about how and where to file such requests.

We are sorry we cannot help you in your quest for relief from the hardship of your incarceration.

Sincerely, j

Ed Monroe CM Staff

Please Note: We firmly insist that no one call our office. Not yourself, family or friends. We do not discuss your case with anyone else but you, and that is only done through correspondence.

seeking freedom for the innocent in prison

1000 Herrontown Road . Princeton . NJ . 08540 centvurionministries.org. info@centxmonministries.org

STEELS, PRINCELLA

TEXAS STATE LAW LIBRARY

P.O. BOX 12367

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2367

15 May 2015

RE: Form request, how to file a brief (civil), and Coffax grant/TX Indigent Defense

Princella Steels (#1926484) Hobby Unit (039) Martin, TX 76661

Dear Ms. Steels,

Thank you for contacting the Texas State LawLibrary. We received yourrequest on 8 May2015.

The State Law Library is prohibited from giving legal advice, and as such we cannot provide you with the forms you requested. We can send copies of forms if provided with the exact title or citation to a form. We cannot recommend'a form for your specific situation.

For information regarding inmate divorce, please refer to Section 9.4 of the State Counselfor Offenders' Legal Handbook, available in all TDCJ units.

Information regarding how to file a brief can be found within the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 38. Requisites of Briefs. These Rules are located in Texas Rules ofCourt - State, available in your unit law library.

For answers to your legal questions, contact your attorney, of if you cannot afford ah attorney, a good resource again would be the Offenders' Legal Handbook, available at TDCJ units. If the Legal Handbook is not sufficient, contact the State Counsel for Offenders. Information oh the State Counsel for Offenders can be found in the Offender Orientation Handbook of by Writingto:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice State Counsel for Offenders Division 2503 Lake Road N ' P.O. Box 4005 Huntsville, TX 77342-4005

The Texas Indigent Defense Commission provides financial and technical support to counties to develop and maintain quality, cost-effective indigent defense systems that meet the needs of local communities and the requirements of the Constitution and state law. In addition, they require local planning for indigent defense and reporting of expenditures and provide an array of resources for counties to improve these services. Edwin Colfax is the Grant Program Manager and administers the Commission's formula and discretionary funding for counties.

The $200,000 grant you stated in your letter was given to Comal County by the Commission, not Mr. Colfax, to start a pilot-pfdgfam where defendants categorized as indigent would have a list of 30 to 50 county approved attorneys to choose from, rather than having one appointed to thehl. Since you were not lyicted in Comal County, this program will unfortunately not apply to you)[ You may want to contact^ the Harris CounTyT'ublic Defender's Office for additional information on theirservices:

1201 Franklin Street 13th Floor Houston, Texas 77002

For assistance with your other address lookup requests, contact your Windham School District library or your unit law librarian.

In the future, please submit your requests on a larger sheet of paper. The Library often has difficulty trying to read your requests.

Sincerely, State Law Library Reference Staff

STEELS, PRINCELLA

TEXAS STATE LAW LIBRARY

P.O. BOX 12367

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2367

24 March 2015

RE: Documents request from the State Law Library

PrineellaSteels (#1926484) Hobby Unit (039) Marlin,TX 76661

Dear Ms. Steels,

Thank you for contacting the Texas State Law Library. We received your request on 6 March 2015.

Enclosed you will find an estimate for your requested copies from the book, Texas Criminal Procedure. Our pricing information sheet for copy requests has also been included for you to review.

Due to the high volume of requests we receive, we are unable to complete more than 5 documents requests at a time. Additional items may be submitted at a later date.

The State Law Library can only access court records for case files held at the Court of Criminal Appeals, Third Court of Appeals, and the Texas Supreme Court. We were unable to locate any case files at the above mentioned courts relating to the cause numbers provided in your letter.

Appellate court records for case #01-15-00120-CV are located at the 1st Court of Appeals. ContactlEeTJIert; Court at the following address in order to request documents from this case file:

Christopher Prine, Clerk 1st Court of Appeals 301 Fannin Houston, TX 77002-2066

Trial court records for cause(s) #141604-701010 and #2012-43323 are located at the Harris County District Court. Contact the Clerk of Court at the following address in order to request documents from these case files:

Harris County District Clerk PO Box 4651 Houston, TX 77210-4651

Contact your unit law library or your Windham School District library for assistance with your address look-up requests The Windham School District libraries provide material on many topics as well as an interlibrary loan service.

Sincerely, State Law Library Reference Staff

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

168-76-0/505170 Special Litigation Section - PHB 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530

December 10, 2014

Princella V. Steels 1926484 Hobby Unit L-101 742 PM 712 Marlin, TX 76661

Dear Ms. Steels:

Thank you for your letter. The Special Litigation Section relies on information from community members to identify civil rights violations. Each Week, we receive hundreds of reports of potential violations. We collect and analyze this information to help us select cases, and we may also use this information as evidence in an existing case. We will review your letter to decide whether it is necessary to contact you for additional information. We do not have the resources to follow-up on every letter.

'.-••The.. Special ^Litigation Section is one.,of ,several Sections, .in the Civil Rights. Division. ' We work to protect civil rights "in fbur, areas*; 1) Kt2f_Jl"iffl'1,"r:! ^f pQ^plo"''vp,> state -or locaf institutions,., including: .. jaiTs, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, and health care" ~ facilifies forepersons witn aisapi.lities (including whether persons in health care facilities should be getting services in the community instead); 2) the rights.of people who interact with state^ or local Pjjlicejjr^Bheriffs' departments_;'__3) the rights ot- people r.r> 5g^e~~saf-e access to reproductive health care clinics or religious institutions; and 4) the rights of people to practice their religion in state and local institutions. ;. We are not authorized to address issues with federal facilities or federal officials.

If your concern is not within this Section's area of work, you may wish to consult the Civil Rights Division web page to find the correct section: www.justice.gov/crt.

.The Special Litigation Section only handles cases that arise from widespread problems that affect groups of people. We do not assist with individual problems. We cannot help you recover damages or any personal relief. We, cannot assist in criminal cases, including wrongful convictions, appeals or sentencing.

; If you.have an .individual problem or seek compensation or some other ,form of-personal relief, you may wish to consult a private attorney or-a-non-profit or legal aid-organization for assistancei, There are only two areas in which we can assist an individual or

Louisiana State Bar Association

Servingthe Public. Servingthe Profession.

December 29, 2014

Princella V. Steels #1926484 Hobby Unit L-101 742 F.M. 712 Martin, TX 76661-4685 re: Lawyer Referral

Dear Princella:

We are in receipt of your letter seeking an attorney to assist you with your legal needs. If you are seeking counsel for an issue related to criminal law, pleasecontact your parish public defender office or the Louisiana state Public Defender Board While the Louisiana State Bar Association does not operated TawyeTfeTeTnfal service, you may wish to contact one of the following lawyer referral services for assistance with civil legal issues:

Baton Rouge Bar Association Louisiana Civil Justice Center P.O. Box 2241 (504) 355-0970 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-2241 (225) 344-4803

Lafayette Parish Bar Association Referral Service Shreveport Bar Association Referral P.O. Box 2194 P.O. Box 2122 Lafayette, LA 70502 Shreveport, LA 71166 (337) 237-4700

The Louisiana State Bar Association has no jurisdiction over the discipline of attorneys. If you wish to file a complaint against your attorney, please contact the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, Office of Disciplinary Counsel, at 4000 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 607, Baton Rouge, LA 70816.

We hope this information is of help to you.

Sincerely, The Louisiana State Bar Association

601 St. Charles Ave. • New Orleans, LA 70130-3404 (504)566-1600. (800)421-LSBA. fax (504)566-0930. www.lsba.org

Texas Innocence Network University of Houston Law Center 100 Law center

Houston,Texas 77204-6060

December 8,2014

Princella Steels #1926484 Hobby Unit L-lOli 4 Bldg. 1926484 742 FM 712 Marlin, Texas 76661

Dear Ms. Steels,

Thank you for completing and returning a Texas Innocence Network questionnaire. We are in the process of looking into your case and would appreciate your assistance in our investigation of your claim of actual innocence. In your correspondence, you stated that you have affidavits that would show that you did not commit the crime for which you were convicted. Could yOu please send us copies of these affidavits, along with the names and current/last known contact information for the people who provided the affidavits?

Your response should be sent to: Texas Innocence Network 100 Law Center Houston, Texas 77204-6060

Please be advised that your case is being placed on hold pending a response to this inquiry. If we do not receive your response by February 15, 2015, we will terminate your case file. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Texas Innocence Network

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