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In the Court of Appeals for the 

Twelfth District of Texas at Tyler 

THE STATE OF TEXAS, § 

 Appellant § 

 § 

v. § No. 12-14-00190-CR

 § 

ALMA MUNOZ GHAFFER, § 

 Appellee § 

STATE’S MOTION TO PUBLISH

TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS: 

COMES NOW, the State of Texas, by and through the Collin County Criminal 

District Attorney Greg Willis and the undersigned attorney, and files this, the State’s 

Motion to Publish. In support of its motion, the State would show the following: 

I.

On April 15, 2015, this Court issued a written opinion affirming the judgment of 

the trial court and designated that the opinion would not be published. See TEX. R. APP.

P. 47.2. 

II.

The time for changing the notation to “publish” has not passed as the Court of 

Criminal Appeals has not already acted on a petition for discretionary review or any other 

request for relief in the case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2 (b). 

III.

ACCEPTED

12-14-00190-CR

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

TYLER, TEXAS

6/1/2015 5:45:23 PM

CATHY LUSK

CLERK

 FILED IN 12th COURT OF APPEALS TYLER, TEXAS 6/1/2015 5:45:23 PM CATHY S. LUSK Clerk
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Publishing the Court’s opinion in this case would serve not only attorneys on both 

sides of the bar and judges in their pre-trial rulings on warrants, but also our state and 

local law enforcement agencies. The City of Dallas, and therefore the jurisdiction of the 

Dallas Police Department, spans across five different counties in North Texas. While this 

has sometimes caused delayed filings or filing of cases in the wrong county, DPD’s 

policy of taking all arrestees to Lew Sterrett jail has provided the benefit of a quick 

and streamlined process for DWI investigations. Other large cities in this area, 

including Richardson, Mesquite, and Carrollton, span multiple counties as well. 

And as many state-wide and local law enforcement agencies have begun adopting “norefusal” policies for their jurisdictions, officers are seeking blood warrants for drivers 

suspected of driving while intoxicated at an increasing rate. 

Furthermore, this particular issue appears to be one of first impression in the State.

Therefore, a published opinion in this type of case is important precedent. The Court of 

Criminal Appeals’ opinion in Sanchez v. State, 365 S.W.3d 681 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012), 

cited by the trial court and both parties in their briefs, addressed a closely related issue 

but when examined closely, was not on point with the issue in this case. The issue in 

Sanchez was whether a magistrate may sign a search warrant for a suspect’s blood 

to be executed in a county other than the one in which he serves. See Sanchez, 365 

S.W.3d at 683. In Appellee’s case, the magistrate signed a blood warrant to be 

executed in his own county and the parties’ briefs reflect that neither side could 

find case law specifically on point to this appeal.
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While this Court’s opinion is certainly available to researchers on Westlaw and 

Lexis, this Court would have a far broader impact on the jurisprudence of the State if the 

opinion carried precedential value. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.7 (providing that only 

published opinions set precedent).

WHEREFORE, the State respectfully requests that this Court change the notation of the 

opinion to “publish.”

GREG WILLIS

Criminal District Attorney

Collin County, Texas

JOHN R. ROLATER, JR.

Assistant Criminal District Attorney

Chief of the Appellate Division

/s/ Calli D. Bailey

CALLI D. BAILEY

Assistant Criminal District Attorney

2100 Bloomdale Rd., Suite 200

McKinney, Texas 75071

(972) 548-4323

FAX (214) 491-4860

State Bar No. 24075638

cdbailey@co.collin.tx.us
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

A true copy of the State’s Motion to Publish has been mailed to Counsel for Appellant, 

Kyle Shaw, by electronic mail to shawlaw@sbcglobal.net, on this, the 1st day of June

2015.

/s/ Calli D. Bailey

Calli D. Bailey