Soto, Ricardo

• Court: Texas Supreme Court
• Decided: October 19, 2015
• Docket: PD-1356-15
• Status: Published

Opinion

PD-1356-15 PD-1356-15 COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS Transmitted 10/19/2015 4:51:24 PM Accepted 10/19/2015 5:07:37 PM ABEL ACOSTA

NO. PD-______ CLERK

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS

RICARDO SOTO Appellant v.

STATE OF TEXAS Appellee

APPELLANT’S FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

Petition from the 66th Judicial District Court of Hill County, Texas Trial Court Cause Number 38,173 and Cause Number 10-15-00029-CR in the Tenth Court of Appeals of Texas

Chelsea Tijerina State Bar No. 24076733 October 19, 2015 E-mail: attorneychelsea@gmail.com

LAW OFFICE OF SIMER &TETENS 3706 Bellmead Drive Waco, Texas 76705 (254) 412-2300 (888) 317-7610—Facsimile

Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Petition For Discretionary Review Page 1 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

RICARDO SOTO Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS Appellee

TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS:

RICARDO SOTO, Appellant, moves for an extension to file Appellant’s

Petition for Discretionary Review:

I.

Appellant RICARDO SOTO moves this Court to allow an extension of

THIRTY (30) days to file his Petition for Discretionary Review.1 On December 4,

2014, Appellant was convicted of the offense of possession of a controlled

substance in penalty group one in the amount of one gram or less and assessed

punishment as follows: 20 months state jail probated for 4.5 years and a fine of

$2,000.00.2 The Tenth Court of Appeals denied Appellant’s sole issue on appeal.3

Thereafter, the Tenth Court denied Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing on

September 3, 2015.

1 TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2(c). 2 (I C.R. at 20–21). 3 Soto v. State, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 8524 at *10 (Tex. App.—Waco August 13, 2015) (mem. op., not designated for publication).

Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Petition For Discretionary Review Page 2 II. REQUIRED INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE

A. The deadline for filing the Motion for Extension:4

October 20, 2015

The Tenth Court of Appeals denied Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing on September 3, 2015. Therefore, the Petition for Discretionary Review was due on October 5, 2015.5 Under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 68.2(c), “the Court of Criminal Appeals may extend the time to file a petition for discretionary review if a party files a motion complying with Rule 10.5(b) no later than 15 days after the last day for filing the petition,” making the deadline to request the extension October 20, 2015.

B. The length of the extension sought:6

Thirty (30) days to November 4, 2015

C. The facts relied upon to reasonably explain the need for the extension:7

Counsel for Appellant practices criminal defense, civil law, and family law. Counsel also drafts appeals. Counsel has a heavy caseload. During the pendency of this appeal, Counsel has prepared for multiple trials and other criminal and family law hearings and has filed multiple appeals or motions for rehearing with the Tenth Court of Appeals.

4 TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b)(1)(A). 5 TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2(A). 6 TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b)(1)(B). 7 TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b)(1)(C).

Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Petition For Discretionary Review Page 3 D. Number of previous extensions granted for previous Petitions for Discretionary Review:8

None.

III.

The additional time requested is not sought solely for delay, nor sought

frivolously, but will be of genuine assistance to Appellant’s attorney in allowing to

timely file the Petition.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF

Appellant requests that this Court grant his Motion and extend the deadline

for filing Appellant’s Petition For Discretionary Review to November 4, 2015 or

that this Court grant such additional time as is just and proper.

Respectfully submitted,

LAW OFFICE OF SIMER & TETENS

/s/ Chelsea Tijerina Chelsea Tijerina 3706 Bellmead Drive Waco, Texas 76705 (254) 412-2300 (888) 317-7610—Facsimile E-mail: attorneychelsea@gmail.com State Bar No. 24076733 ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

8 TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b)(1)(D).

Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Petition For Discretionary Review Page 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

A copy of this Motion was delivered to Mark Pratt, Hill County District Attorney’s Office on October 19, 2015 by email.

/s/ Chelsea Tijerina Chelsea Tijerina

Appellant’s Motion to Extend Time to File Petition For Discretionary Review Page 5