Opinion
No. 05-16-00827-CR No. 05-16-00828-CR
09-26-2016
JOHN HARRY CLOUD, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 2 Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. F93-61603-I & F93-61604-I
ORDER
The Court has before it appellant's September 21, 2016 "Motion for the Reordering of the Required Reporter's Record" in which appellant asks this Court to require the reporter's record from the 195th Judicial District Court be filed.
In May 1996, appellant was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of two children under the age of fourteen and sentenced to life in prison in each case. On March 18, 2016, appellant filed an application for DNA testing under article 64 of the code of criminal procedure. Although the cases were originally out of the 195th Judicial District Court, they were transferred to the Criminal District Court No. 2 when appellant filed a motion to recuse the presiding judge of the 195th Judicial District Court.
On June 17, 2016, the trial judge of the Criminal District Court No. 2 denied appellant's motion for DNA testing. Appellant filed a notice of appeal in each case. Because these appeals of the denial of the request for DNA testing are from the Criminal District Court No. 2, any reporter's record of any hearing would be out of the same court. The official Criminal District Court No. 2 court reporter has notified the Court that appellant's motion was "not heard in open court and a Reporter's Record does not exist." Furthermore, no reporter's record exists from the 195th Judicial District Court because the cases were transferred from that court into the Criminal District Court No. 2. Accordingly, we DENY appellant's motion to order a reporter's record from the 195th Judicial District Court.
The clerk's records were filed August 16, 2016, and appellant's brief was due September 22, 2016. The appeals will proceed on the clerk's records before the Court. On the Court's own motion, we GRANT an extension of thirty days and ORDER appellant's brief due on or before October 24, 2016.
/s/ ADA BROWN
JUSTICE