1 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS CEDRIC ALLEN RICKS , § APPELLANT § V. § NO. AP

- 77,040 § THE STATE OF TEXAS, § APPELLEE § STATE’ S SECOND MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE THE STATE ’ S BRIEF TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS: COMES NOW, The State of Texas, by and through the Criminal District Attorney of Tarrant County, Texas, and moves the Court to extend the time for filing the State’s brief in this cause to February 1, 2016.
I. In May 2014, Appellant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the 371 st Judicial District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, the Hon. Mollee Westfall presiding. The case style and cause number below were The State of
Texas v. Cedric Allen Ricks , No. 1361004R.
II. The trial judge signed the judgment on May 16, 2014. Appeal to this Court was automatic. Appellant is currently incarcerated. AP-77,040 COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS Transmitted 11/30/2015 1:08:35 PM Accepted 11/30/2015 2:10:32 PM

ABEL ACOSTA CLERK2 III. The clerk ’s record was filed on September 15, 2014. The reporter’s record was filed on December 18, 2014.
IV. Appellant filed his brief on August 4, 2015 , after being granted extensions totaling 196 days. The State’s Brief is currently due on December 2 , 2015. The State requests a sixty

- day extension of time to file its brief, thus creating a new due date of February 1, 2016

. V. The State previously was granted a 120

- day extension of time to file its brief in this cause.
VI. This extension is not requested for purposes of delay. This extension is necessary to a llow the State adequate time in this death

- penalty appeal to research and respond to Appellant’s twenty points of error. The State cannot complete the
State’s brief by the current deadline, and good cause exists to extend the time for filing the State ’ s brief as requested herein.3 VII. Counsel for Appellant, the Hon. Mary B. Thornton, informed the undersigned counsel for the State during a telephone conversation on November 17, 2015, that she does not oppose the State’s motion for extension.
VIII. Counsel has been reading the lengthy t rial record, researching the issues, and drafting the State’s brief in this cause

. Counsel was out of the office due to the death of her father and m atters that she has been required to handle as a result. Additionally, counsel attend ed a CLE course the afternoon of November 13, 2015; assist ed in gathering records in death

- penalty cases handled by the Criminal District Attorney ’s Office w here DNA testing was performed; handled various matters relating to the death

- penalty case of Christopher Chubasco Wilkins , Nos.
AP

- 75,878 (direct appeal) & WR

- 75,229

- 01 (initial habeas petition), before and after the October 28, 2015, execution date was withdrawn ; updated her lengthy paper entitled “State Law of Charging Instruments, ” published every two years by Thompson Reuters; filed the State ’s brief in Rafael Rodriguez v. The State of
Texas , No. 02

- 14

- 00377

- CR, on September 14, 2015; handled administrative duties in the post

- conviction section of the Criminal District Attorney’s Office on August 3

- 14, 2015 , on October 1

- 7, 2015, and on other days when asked to do so;4 and reviewed the work of other attorneys in the post

- conviction section when requested to do so . Counsel was out of the office the week of November 19, 2015; and will be out of the office the week of December 21, 2015. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the State respectfully requests that the Court extend the time for filing the State’s brief to February 1, 2016

. Respectfully submitted,
SHAREN WILSON Criminal District Attorney Tarrant County, Texas DEBRA WINDSOR Assistant Criminal District Attorney Chief , Post

- Conviction /s/ Helena F. Faulkner HELENA F. FAULKNER Assistant Criminal District Attorney State Bar No. 06855600 401 W. Belknap Fort Worth, Texas 76196

- 0201 (817) 884

- 1687 FAX (817) 88 4

- 1672 CCAappellatealerts@tarrantcountytx.gov
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE On November 17, 2015, Appellant’s counsel, Mary B. Thornton, infor med the undersigned counsel that she does not oppose this motion for extension. /s/ Helena F. Faulkner HELENA F. FAULKNER5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE On November 30, 2015, a copy of the State’s motion was e - served on Appellant’s direct

- appeal counsel Mary B. Thornton, marybrabson01@gmail.com ; and his habeas counsel, Catherine Clare Bernhard, cbernhard@sbcglobal.net

. /s/ Helena F. Faulkner H ELENA F. FAULKNER