NOTICE AND DEMAND FOR COMPLAINT

Cause No(s). _____________________________

The State of Texas                            §           IN THE _________________________ COURT

                                                            §            

VS.                                                      §          ________________________________________                                                               §                    

____________________________   §           __________________ COUNTY, TEXAS

NOTICE AND DEMAND FOR COMPLAINT

I, _________________________________, a living  man without benefit of counsel, hereinafter known as the Accused, moves this court to give notice to the prosecutor to bring and file with this court and to give the Accused a copy thereof , of the Complaint for the above Cause:

1.      The Accused, gives notice that the Accused does not have a copy of the Complaint that was made, per Article 45.018 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

“Art. 45.018. Complaint

a) For purposes of this chapter, a complaint is a sworn allegation charging the accused with the commission of an offense.

b) A defendant is entitled to notice of a complaint against the defendant not later than the day before the date of any proceeding in the prosecution of the defendant under the complaint.

The defendant may waive the right to notice granted by this subsection.”.(Emph. Added)

2.      The Accused gives Judicial Notice that the Complaint will have particular Requests.

“Art. 45.019. [883] [973] [938] Requisites Of Complaint

(a) A complaint is sufficient, without regard to its form, if it substantially satisfies the following requisites:

     (1) it must be in writing;

     (2) it must commence "In the name and by the authority of the State of Texas";

     (3) it must state the name of the accused, if known, or if unknown, must include a reasonably definite description of the accused;

     (4) it must show that the accused has committed an offense against the law of this state, or state that the affiant has good reason to believe and does believe that the accused has committed an offense against the law of this state;

     (5) it must state the date the offense was committed as definitely as the affiant is able to provide;

     (6) it must bear the signature or mark of the affiant;  and

     (7) it must conclude with the words "Against the peace and dignity of the State" and, if the offense charged is an offense only under a municipal ordinance, it may also conclude with the words "Contrary to the said ordinance".

(b) A complaint filed in justice court must allege that the offense was committed in the county in which the complaint is made.

(c) A complaint filed in municipal court must allege that the offense was committed in the territorial limits of the municipality in which the complaint is made.

(d) A complaint may be sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths.

(e) A complaint in municipal court may be sworn to before:

     (1) the municipal judge;

     (2) the clerk of the court or a deputy clerk;

     (3) the city secretary;  or

     (4) the city attorney or a deputy city attorney.

(f) If the defendant does not object to a defect, error, or irregularity of form or substance in a charging instrument before the date on which the trial on the merits commences, the defendant waives and forfeits the right to object to the defect, error, or irregularity.  Nothing in this article prohibits a trial court from requiring that an objection to a charging instrument be made at an earlier time.” (Emph. Added)

3.      The Accused, gives notice that the Accused Demand a copy of the Complaint at lest 24 hours before the arraignment of the Accused.

Respectfully,

_________________________________

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the forgoing has been delivered to the following party or counsel of record via delivery confirmation, hand delivery or fax on this ______  day of ________________________, 201__.

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

_________________________________

Cause No(s). _____________________________

The State of Texas                            §           IN THE _________________________ COURT

                                                            §            

VS.                                                      §          ________________________________________                                                               §                    

____________________________   §           __________________ COUNTY, TEXAS

ORDER FOR COURT CLERK

            On this the                           day of                                         , 201__, came on to be heard the Accused Notice and Demand for Complaint in the above entitled and numbered cause, and the court, having heard the said motion, and the evidence thereon submitted, is of the opinion that said Notice should be

                    Granted

And hereby Order the Court Clerk to supply the Accused with a copy of the Complaint  within 24 hours before the first hearing, by what ever means available to the Court Clerk.

            Signed and entered this                day of                            ,  201__.

SEAL

         

                                                            _____________________________

                                                                        Judge Presiding

INSTRUCTIONS

This document can be filed as soon as you can get the Clerk of the Court to give you the Cause Number of your case. You may have to wait until after the arraignment, but the law states that you should have a copy of the complaint before arraignment. That does not seem to stop them from preceding anyway. If you cannot get it filed 10 days before the arraignment, then it needs to be filed at least 10 days before the pretrial. If you do not get a copy of the primary charging instrument, the court should not have subject matter jurisdiction. This issue can be appealed.

Line 1: Where you put the cause numbers of the case.

Line 2: Put either ‘Municipal’, ‘Justice of the Peace’ or County.

Line 3: Put  either ‘In the City of (whatever City)”, “Precinct (whatever number)” or “(whatever county Court it is – like – At Law #11)

Line 4: Put your name in Upper and Lower Caps.

Line 5: Put whatever county the court is in – like – “Galveston”.

Line 6: Put your name in Upper and Lower Caps.

There is a space for you to put “wo” in front of  ‘man’ if need be.

Line 7: Sign your name, print your name in Upper and Lower Caps then below that print your address.

Line 8: Put the numbered day of the Month that you serve a copy of this document to the prosecutor.

Line 9: Put the name of the Month that you serve a copy of this document to the prosecutor.

Line 10: Put the last number of the year that you serve a copy of this document to the prosecutor. – like - 2013 .

Line 11: Put “ Prosecutor for (Whatever Court)

Line 12: Put the street address where the prosecutor will be served.

Line 13: Put the City, State and Zipcode where the Prosecutor will be served.

Line 14: Sign your name, print your name in Upper and Lower Caps then below that print your address.

NEW DOCUMENT - ORDER

Line 1: Line 1: Where you put the cause numbers of the case.

Line 2: Put either ‘Municipal’, ‘Justice of the Peace’ or County.

Line 3: Put  either ‘In the City of (whatever City)”, “Precinct (whatever number)” or “(whatever county Court it is – like – At Law #11)

Line 4: Put your name in Upper and Lower Caps.

Line 5: Put whatever county the court is in – like – “Galveston”.

Leave rest for the Judge to fill out.

No page number on the ORDER – you may need to cut and paste into a new document.

Original goes to the clerk of the court, one copy to the Prosecutor and one copy for you to keep and have stamped by the clerk. Be sure and NOT include the instruction sheets.