Catarino Valdez, Jr. v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 403rd District Court of Travis County

State: Texas

Court: Texas Northern District Court

Docket No: 03-01-00594-CR

Case Date: 11/15/2001

Plaintiff: Armando Castillo Campos, Jr.

Defendant: State of Texas--Appeal from 220th District Court of Comanche County

Preview:Order filed September 8, 2011
TxSeal2

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals

__________

No. 11-11-00074-CR
__________

ARMANDO CASTILLO CAMPOS, JR., Appellant

V.

STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 220th District Court

Comanche County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. CCCR-10-03300

O R D E R
Armando Castillo Campos, Jr. timely filed a notice of appeal from his convictions of the offenses of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by contact, for which he was sentenced to consecutive terms of confinement for ninety-nine years and twenty years.  The district clerk has filed a clerk.s record in this case, but the appeal has been unduly stalled due in part to the lack of a reporter.s record.  Counsel for Campos asserts that Campos is indigent and cannot afford to pay for the reporter.s record.  Counsel has filed in this court a
motion for remand to the trial court for a determination of indigence.  In the motion, counsel, who did not represent Campos at trial, states that he was hired by a third party to represent Campos on appeal and that, when he initially contacted the court reporter, he was informed that a reporter.s record would be furnished free of charge.  Upon learning thereafter that Campos had not been previously determined by the trial court to be indigent, counsel filed in the trial court an untimely request for a free appellate record, which was supported by Campos.s affidavit of indigence.  See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.2.  The trial court determined that it was without authority to act on the untimely request.
An indigent criminal defendant has a constitutional right to a free appellate record in a first appeal of right.  See Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 18-19 (1956); Abdnor v. State, 712 S.W.2d 136, 139 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986).  The failure of counsel to comply with a simple procedural rule, such as timely filing a request for a free reporter.s record, may operate to deny a defendant the opportunity to present his appeal at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.  Ward v. State, 740 S.W.2d 794, 800 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987).  The

Download 10250.pdf