The Appellate Division handles all post-conviction criminal matters for the Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Its responsibilities include appeals in misdemeanor, felony, and death penalty cases, motions for rehearing, petitions for discretionary review, and state and some federal writs of habeas corpus in misdemeanor, felony, and death penalty cases. The Appellate Division also handles petitions for expunction and nondisclosure.
Typically, the Appellate Division attorneys research the law and apply it to the facts in preparing written documents. The greatest part of the work involves responses to documents prepared by the defense, but on occasion, the staff will initiate an appeal challenging the ruling of a trial court or a motion for rehearing and a petition for review challenging the decision of an appellate court. The attorneys also prepare and present oral arguments before the state’s fifteen criminal appellate courts and, sometimes, in hearings before Collin County’s fifteen trial courts. On a daily basis, the Appellate Division staff provides support to the sixty-plus trial attorneys of the Office both before and during trial. In addition, the staff prepares and presents continuing legal education programs both for the Office and for criminal law practitioners across the state.
Presently, five attorneys and two secretaries use computers, electronic research tools, and written materials to accomplish their tasks. The staff frequently coordinates with the staffs of other appellate divisions around the state, the State Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Post-Conviction Litigation Division of the Attorney General’s Office, and various law enforcement agencies. The attorneys are licensed to appear in all the state courts, the northern and eastern districts of Texas’s federal courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Lisa Braxton, Chief Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 4331; lsmith@co.collin.tx.us
Libby Lange, Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 4373; llange@co.collin.tx.us
Amy Murphy, Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 4353; asmurphy@co.collin.tx.us
Courtney Sines, Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 4618; csines@collincountytx.gov
Robert Koehl, Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 3804; rkoehl@collincountytx.gov
Becca Skupin, Felony Prosecutor – Ext. 4327; mailto:askupin@collincountytx.gov
Crissy Hinojosa, Legal Secretary II – Ext. 4750; chinojosa@co.collin.tx.us
Genesis Gonzalez, Legal Secretary II – Ext. 4768; ggonzalez@collincountytx.gov
