Appellant’s Motion to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits Page 1 

Small v. State; Cause No. 14-15-00039-CR

CAUSE NO. 14-15-00039-CR

_________________________________________________ 

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE FOURTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

HOUSTON DIVISION 

_________________________________________________ 

SHERILL ANN SMALL § 

 § 

v. § 

 § 

STATE OF TEXAS § 

_______________________________________________ 

APPELLANT’S MOTION TO SUSPEND RULE REGARDING WORD 

LIMITS 

_______________________________________________ 

 

 

 Justin Bradford Smith 

 Texas Bar No. 24072348 

 Harrell, Stoebner, & Russell, P.C. 

 2106 Bird Creek Drive 

 Temple, Texas 76502

 Phone: (254) 771-1855 

 FAX: (254) 771-2082 

Email: justin@templelawoffice.com 

 

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT 

ACCEPTED

14-15-00039-CR

FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS

HOUSTON, TEXAS

7/13/2015 8:11:37 PM

CHRISTOPHER PRINE

CLERK

 FILED IN 14th COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 7/13/2015 8:11:37 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk
Appellant’s Motion to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits Page 2

Small v. State; Cause No. 14-15-00039-CR

TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:

COMES NOW, Appellant, SHERILL ANN SMALL, who files this Motion 

to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits, and shows unto the Court as follows:

I.

1. This is a capital murder appeal in which the death penalty was not 

imposed. 

2. For such an appeal, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.4(i)(2)(B) 

provides a limit of 15,000 words for a computer-generated brief and response in an 

appellate court. 

3. Appellant’s brief after editing contains 16,908 words, of those that 

count under the rule.

4. One of the errors Appellant alleges pertains to the exclusion/limitation 

of evidence. In such a case, the reviewing court is required to examine the record 

as a whole to assess harm. Barshaw v. State, 342 S.W.3d 91, 93 (Tex. Crim. App. 

2011).

5. The reporter’s record in this case is itself twenty-three volumes long, 

necessitating an unusually lengthy statement of facts, which nonetheless may still 

be lacking. 

6. Under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 2, the Court may suspend 
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Small v. State; Cause No. 14-15-00039-CR

the operation of a rule in a particular case and order a different procedure.

7. Therefore, in light of the lengthy record and the mandate from the 

Court of Criminal Appeals to consider the entire record in assessing harm, 

Appellant asks this Court to suspend the operation of Rule 9.2(i)(2)(B) in this case 

and accept Appellant’s brief as is. Tex. R. App. P. 9.2.

8. In the alternative, Appellant asks this Court to allow Appellant leave 

to edit her brief further to bring it into compliance with Rule 9.4(i)(2)(B).

II.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellant asks this Court to 

accept Appellant’s brief as is, or to allow Appellant a reasonably time to bring her 

brief in compliance with Rule 9.4(i)(2)(B).
Appellant’s Motion to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits Page 4

Small v. State; Cause No. 14-15-00039-CR

Respectfully submitted:

/s/ Justin Bradford Smith

Justin Bradford Smith

Texas Bar No. 24072348

Harrell, Stoebner, & Russell, P.C.

2106 Bird Creek Drive

Temple, Texas 76502

Phone: (254) 771-1855

FAX: (254) 771-2082

Email: justin@templelawoffice.com

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Appellant’s Motion to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits Page 5

Small v. State; Cause No. 14-15-00039-CR

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that, on July 13, 2015, a true and correct copy of the 

Appellant’s Motion to Suspend Rule Regarding Word Limits was provided to 

counsel below:

W.W. Torrey

Milam County District Attorney’s Office

204 N. Central 

Cameron, Texas 76520

Email: daoffice@milamcounty.net

Attorneys for the State

Craig W. Cosper

Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney

P.O. Box 12548

Austin, Texas 78711-2548

Telephone: 512-936-1400; Facsimile: 512-936-1280

craig.cosper@texasattorneygeneral.gov

/s/ Justin Bradford Smith

Justin Bradford Smith