Westley Lopez v. the State of Texas ( 2022 )

Order entered December 5, 2022 In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-22-01222-CR WESTLEY LOPEZ, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee On Appeal from the 195th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. F20-00125-N ORDER Before the Court is appellant’s November 22, 2022 motion to substitute counsel. The motion states appellant desires to substitute Franklyn Mickelsen for Larry Mitchell as appellant’s counsel. A motion substituting counsel must show that the motion has been delivered in person to the represented party or, alternatively, mailed to the party by both certified and first-class mail addressed to their last known address. See TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5(b). The certificate of service on the motion shows that a copy of the motion was sent to the Dallas County District Attorney, but it does not show it was sent to Mr. Lopez. Because the motion does not satisfy the requirements of rule 6.5(b) to permit Mr. Mitchell to withdraw, we GRANT the motion to the extent we DIRECT the Clerk to designate Franklyn Mickelsen as lead counsel for appellant. All future correspondence should be sent to Franklyn Mickelsen as appellant’s lead counsel. Mr. Mitchell shall continue to serve as co-counsel for appellant until he files a motion to withdraw that conforms to rule 6.5. /s/ DENNISE GARCIA JUSTICE –2–