The opinion
PD-0761-15
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Transmitted 7/31/2015 12:37:06 PM
Accepted 7/31/2015 3:23:35 PM
No. PD-0761-15 ABEL ACOSTA
CLERK
IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS
PATRICK MARCEL BROWN
Appellant
July 31, 2015 v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS
Appellee
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
Pursuant to Rule 68.10 of the Texas Rules OF Appellate Procedure, Appellant
seeks leave to amend the petition for discretionary review filed in this case in order to
correct an inadvertent oversight in the original petition. Petitioner seeks to amend the
petition to amend the Statement of Case to provide a brief summary of the case and
to re-title the current Statement of the Case as the Statement of Procedural History, as
reflected below:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Patrick Brown, Appellant, was charged with falsely holding himself out
as a lawyer in the context of helping the complaining witness with a real
estate transaction that appeared to be falling through. The complaining
witness believed that Appellant was a lawyer and made several
statements to that effect. While Appellant did not correct these
misstatements, he did not specifically tell the complaining witness that he
was a lawyer, was licensed to practice law, or otherwise represent himself
to be a lawyer. Appellant was convicted on the theory that he violated
Section 38.122 by failing to correct the complaining witness’s
misunderstanding and acting in a manner which could be considered
consistent with the complaining witness’s misunderstanding. Appellant
challenges the interpretation of Section 38.122 that would justify
Appellant’s conviction without explicitly requiring him to represent that
he was a lawyer to the complaining witness and the breadth of Section
38.122.
STATEMENT OF PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On March 27, 2013 in the 262nd District Court of Harris County, Texas,
Appellant was indicted for falsely holding oneself out as a lawyer. (C.R.
at 13). After a trial by jury, Appellant was convicted of falsely holding
oneself out as a lawyer and the jury assessed punishment at 5 years in
prison (C.R. at 970-971). On August 30, 2013, Appellant filed timely
notice of appeal. On May 28, 2015, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
affirmed Appellant’s conviction in a published opinion.
WHEREFORE, Appellant prays this court grant this motion and substitute the
Amended Petition for Discretionary Review for the incorrectly formatted Petition for
Discretionary Review.
Respectfully submitted,
ALEXANDER BUNIN
Chief Public Defender
Harris County Texas
/s/ Nicolas Hughes
NICOLAS HUGHES
Assistant Public Defender
Harris County Texas
1201 Franklin Street, 13th Floor
Houston Texas 77002
(713) 368-0016
(713) 386-9278 fax
TBA No. 24059981
nicolas.hughes@pdo.hctx.net
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this Petition for Discretionary Review has been served
upon the Harris County District Attorney's Office — Appellate Section and the State
Prosecuting Attorney, on this the July 31, 2015 by electronic service.
/s/ Nicolas Hughes
NICOLAS HUGHES
Assistant Public Defender