Opinion
No. 04-16-00559-CR
05-17-2017
Stanley Foster BAKER, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee
From the 25th Judicial District Court, Guadalupe County, Texas
Trial Court No. 15-1755-CR-A
Honorable W.C. Kirkendall, Judge Presiding
ORDER
Appellant is an inmate representing himself in this appeal. We granted Appellant's first motion for a sixty-day extension to file his brief; his brief was due on May 1, 2017.
On April 27, 2017, Appellant filed a second motion for extension of time to file his brief. He stated he has not received electronic recordings of the following events:
| Event Date | Volume | Event | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06 Jan 2016 | 2 | Hearing to Appoint New Counsel | Richard Roberts |
| 02 Feb 2016 | 3 | Pre-Trial Hearing | Phyllis Bush |
| 25 May 2016 | 5 | Pre-Trial Hearing | Nancy Capetillo |
| 12 Jul 2016 | 6 | Hearing on Motion to Suppress | Lori Schmid |
| 18 Jul 2016 | 7 | Trial | Lori Schmid |
| 19 Jul 2016 | 8 | Trial | Lori Schmid |
| 20 Jul 2016 | 9 | Trial | Lori Schmid |
This court contacted each of the reporters, and except for Richard Roberts, none has audio recordings of the events.
We ORDER court reporter Richard Roberts to file in this court a digital copy of the audio recording on the Hearing to Appoint New Counsel held on January 6, 2016, within FIVE DAYS of the date of this order.
While his motion for extension of time to file his pro se brief and his request for copies of the audio recordings above was pending, on May 5, 2017, Appellant filed a pro se brief. The brief is replete with formal and substantive defects. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1, 38.9. The defects make his brief subject to being struck, or, at a minimum, for multiple issues to be waived for failure to adequately brief the issue. See, e.g., id. R. 38.1(i).
Appellant's motion for a thirty-day extension of time to file a brief—which would now be an amended brief—is GRANTED. Appellant's pro se amended brief is due on May 31, 2017.
The trial court granted Appellant's request to represent himself in this appeal, with a court-appointed standby appellate lawyer, but "there is no Texas constitutional right to appellate self-representation." Cormier v. State, 85 S.W.3d 496, 498 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, order); see Martinez v. Court of Appeal of Cal., Fourth Appellate Dist., 528 U.S. 152, 163 (2000) (recognizing that states may allow appellants to represent themselves in criminal appeals).
We caution Appellant that if he fails to file his pro se amended brief by May 31, 2017, we will order court-appointed appellate counsel to file a brief on Appellant's behalf. See Cormier, 85 S.W.3d at 498 (refusing to allow appellant to proceed pro se on appeal because it would not be in his best interest).
/s/_________
Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 17th day of May, 2017.
/s/_________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court