Ex parte Shoe (defendant estopped from claiming his prior DWI conviction was void for absence of a mandated fine because he agreed to it) has been pending before the CCA since 2004. What the heck is taking so long? Any thoughts? Anyone have an older PDR pending?

Just waiting for a prince to pick it up!

[This message was edited by John Stride on 08-01-06 at .]

They're waiting for the other one to drop?

Maybe they just need some precedent?

Fitts v. State, 982 S.W.2d 175, and Wear v. State, 283 S.W. 811, perhaps?

On a related matter, I have had a State's appeal pending post-submission in the 5th COA for over six months. Usually, the Court acts expeditiously. Perhaps the issue was more knotty than I thought! The issue is whether the trial court wrongly granted a pre-verdict motion for mistrial after the verdict?

[This message was edited by John Stride on 08-02-06 at .]

The Third Court in Austin is taking two years to return opinions. I'm sure they have excuses.

Apparently they are overloaded in places, since I just had 3 appeals transfered from the Tyler Court of Appeals to the court in Amarillo. Going to make one heck of a drive for oral argument.

I have been waiting for a decision on one of my cases since Nov. 2004.

I don't understand the delay.

I don't know for sure, but assuming you are granted oral argument in any transfer cases, you're more apt to find the transferee court coming to visit you.

It's long been the policy of the 6th Court that when oral argument is granted in transfer cases, the Court travels to the hometown of the transferring court to hear argument. For example, this past Spring the 6th travelled to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, & Houston to hear a batch of oral argument transfers from the various courts in those cities.

If anyone has a different exeperience regarding oral argument in transfer cases, I'd like to know about it.

At least the 8th COA has conducted live video arguments instead of the court or the parties traveling great distances. But even with that, in McKinney we drive to Dallas (SMU). And, we have had the 11th COA require both parties to travel from McKinney to Eastland.

The 11th COA used to travel when I clerked there. (went to Dallas with the Court and other clerks went to Houston - we paid our own expenses, but the Court had expenses paid). I have heard that expense cutbacks are a primary reason why they are no longer traveling. I would assume that other courts may be facing the same type of cutbacks.

I am sometimes confused by the length of time some opinions take. Especially, when one relatively simple appeal is submitted months before a more complicated one and the more complicated appeal gets an opinion first.

The 13th regularly gets transfer cases and always travels to the transferring district to hear argument.

Our oldest appeal: pending in the 13th on remand from the CCA since October of 2002.

Our oldest motion for rehearing: pending since last July after the denial of the defendant's meritless mandamus. Defendant, an elected official who has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of his evading charge, has now been on paid vacation for about 18 months.

Can you mandamus to get a final ruling on a mandamus?

Shoe wasn't submitted until May 25, 2005 -- it took some time to get an appellate attorney appointed after his pro se PDR was granted.

Don't know what to make of it taking so long but they granted another State's PDR on the same issue so I guess that's a good sign?

Shoe was dismissed today as an improvident grant so the Fort Worth coa's favorable opinion stands.