\ 

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Leonardo Vasquez 

TDCJ-CID #1908818 

Beto Unit 

1391 FM 3328 

Tennessee Colony, TX 75880 

Abel Acosta - Clerk, 

Court of Criminal Appeals 

P.O. Box 12308 - Capitol Station 

Austin, TX 78711 

May 16, 2015 

~3,~aq-oJ 

This cl~eumen~ eon~rns some 

pages that are of poor quail~ 

at tfie tune of lmsgl~. 

RE: Original Filing, AJ?plication . .for Writ .of .Ma,ndamus. /. r ........ , ' . ./ 

To whom it may concern; 

Enclosed, please find the original copy of my Application For Writ of r1andamus. 

Please file this with the court, enter it into the system, and include it 

with the papers related to this cause. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

c.c. Cameron County District Attorney 

file/lv 

~ECE~VED. ~N ©OORT OF CRIMINA!. A~PEALS 

MAY 202015 

RECEIVED 

COURT OF CRIMINAl · P~AtS 

MAY 
CASE NO: 120}2452 

LEONARDO VASQUEZ, #1908818, 

Relator, 

vs. 

138TH·DISTRICT COURT, CAMERON COUNTY, 

Respondent. 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

IN THE TEXAS 

OF 

CRIMINAL.APPEALS 

RELATOR'S ORIGINAL APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS 

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF SAID COURT: 

COURT 

COMES NOW, LEONARDO VASQUEZ, "Relator" pro se~in the above-styled and numbered 

cause and files this Original Applicahon for Writ of Mandamus pursuant to §52.047, 

Texas Government Code,, and for good cause would respectfully show the Court as 

follows: 

r.· 

JURISDICTION 

This Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction overthe parties and subject 

matter in that Relator's cause was a plea agreement and no direct appeal was 

pursued. 

II. 

RELATOR 

Relator is an offender incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal. Justice 

and is appearing prose, whocan be located .at: Beto Unit, 1391 FM 3328, Tennessee 

Colony, TX 75880. Relator has exhausted his remedies and has no other adequate 

remedy at law. The act sought to be compelled is ministerial, not discretionary 

in nature. Texas. Government Code, .§54.047(b), requires Respondent to "determine 

a reasonable fee" for a'copy of the clerk and reporter's record in Relator's cause. 

III. 

RESPONDENT 

Relator was convicted on January 4, 2014 in the !38th Judicial District Court, 

Cameron County, Texas under cause number 2012-DCR~2913-B by and through a.plea 

agreement for the offense of Aggravated Kidnapping, (·PC 20.04), and sentenced to 

30 years' confinement in the TDCJ~CID. Honorable Arturo c. Nelson, Judge Pre.siding. 

Respondent can be served at: 974 E. Harrison, Brownsville, TX 78250. 

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IV. 

VIOLATION OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE §52.047(b) 

Subsequent. to Relator's conviction, his family sought to acquire the official 

record in this cause. On December 8, 2014 the Official Court Reporter for Respondent 

sold an "original and complimentary Copy [of the] Reporter's Record of Punishment 

hearing held on January 9, 2014. " This purchase, $136 .. oo, (Invoice No. 2014-34) , 

encompassed only 23 pages; $5.91 per· page. 

Relator objected to that fee in the form ofa properly filed Motion to Obtain 

Clerk and Reporter's· Record,. with an accompanying Affidavit of Inability to Pay 

Costs on January 1St '2015. Per the Rul'es·of Court/Appellate Procedure, Relator 

served the Cameron .County · District · Attorney with a true and correct copy of the 

pl~p.?ing. In •that ·motion 'Relator detailed the amount of hearings and documents 

.. involved-in this cause. (There are seven (7) "Related Cases" involved in Relator's 

cause. ) ; (See: Case Summary) Further, in Relator '·s motion, an offer of .10¢ per 

page, a request for a 90-day "loan," or review at the Cameron County Jail of the 

records in question was detailed in the "Conclusion" section of the motion. 

"When a properly filed' motion ·is pending before a trial court, the act of 

giving consideration to and ruling upon that motion is ministeriaL and·mandamus l 

may issue to compel the trial judge to act."' SAFETY.:.KLEEN v. GARCIA, 945 S.W.2d 

268~ 269 (Tex. App •. -San Antonio 1997) · 

However, mandamus will not issue unless the record indicates that a properly. 

filed motion has awaited disposition for an unreasonable amount of time." SafetyKleeni supra, @269. On • March 3, 2015, 3 months after·the motion was filed, Relator 

submitted a letter of inquiry tothe district clerk of Cameron County seeking "the 

status of [the] motion. II* After waiting another 45 . days Relator I on April 21, 

2015,** again submitted · a letter 6f inquiry .to the Cameron County district clerk 

detailing the course of events surrounding ·.the attempt; to acquire the official 

record and, again, asking for ".the status of [the] motion. To this date no response 

has been forwarded. 

* 

** 

Rllat.c:a:" .has ally carl::x:n cx:pies of: the rroticn am.~t.letter:s to the district clerk in his 

p:ssessim. Relater has oo ao::a::s' to a fh:Jt<xxpies in c:ll:ilir to carry. the h.D::d:n .of "establ:i.shi.rB 

a ra::x::u::d ''in this ple:di.n:3. fb..eTer, the origirEls are oo file ·with the district clerk of carrercn 

Cb..lhty ,. arrl carl::x:n cx:pies are m file with. the G3Trel:m Cb.lnty District Attorrey' s offi<:E. 

'fue letter has a typ::> cate of llpriJ. 21, 2014 •. It slu.lld rred "lpril 21, 4)15. II 

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In order to be entitled to mandamus relief, a relator must establish the trial 

court: 

1. "Had a legal duty to perform a non-discretionary act." Texas Gov't. 

Code §52.047(b) states "If an abjection is made to the amount of 

transcription fee, the judge SHALL determine a reasonable fee." 

(emphasis added) 

2. "Was asked to perform the act." Relator's motion is properly filed 

and served on opposing counsel. Relator has diligently pursued 

the outcome of that motion for well over five (5) months now. 

3. "Failed to do so." 

In Re Molina, 94 s.w. 3d 885, 886 (Tex. App.-San Antonio, 2003) 

- v. 

PRAYER FOR RELIEF 

FOR THESE REASONS, Relator respectfully requests a finding that the Respondent 

did not "determine a reasonable fee" for a complete copy of the official record 

in this cause. Relator ·prays for an Order directing Respondent to determine a 

reasonable fee for a copy of the Clerk and Reporter's Record, and to further and 

such other relief to which Relator shows himself entitled to. 

Vasquez, 

Relator, Pro Se 

UNSWORN .DECLARATION 

"I, Leonardo· Vasquez, TDCJ-CID #1908818, being presently incarcerated in the 

Beto Unit of the TDCJ-CID, declare under penalty ·Of perjury that the above and 

foregoing are both true and correct." 

Executedon this the 16th day of 

CERTIFICATE'OF'SERVICE 

This is to further certify that i have mailed a true and·correct copy of this 

document to the Cameron County District Attorney, First Class MaiL postage prepaid, 

by placing the same in 'the Beto Unit's mail drop-box, des'gned for that purpose, 

on this the 16th day of May, 2015. · 

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C.c. file/lv