Opinion
13-22-00430-CV
04-17-2023
IN THE INTEREST OF G.K.C. AND M.R.C., CHILDREN
On appeal from the 214th District Court of Nueces County, Texas.
Before Justices Benavides, Longoria, and Tijerina
ORDER
PER CURIAM
This cause is before the Court on appellant's motion for extension of time to file his brief. Appellant's brief was originally due on March 15, 2023. On March 30, 2023, this Court ordered appellant to file his brief by April 11, 2023, failing which, his appeal would be dismissed for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(1), 42.3(b), (c). Appellant has not filed his brief, but in his motion, appellant requests an extension for an unspecified period, asserting that "the court is in error and has caused delay" and further states that "I've had to guess that the court should appoint the assistance of counsel if I presented a statement of [i]nability to pay cost[s]."
We denied appellant's motion to appoint counsel on October 27, 2022. "There is no general right to counsel in civil cases." See Erazo v. Sanchez, 580 S.W.3d 768, 770 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2019, no pet.). The Legislature has provided for court-appointed counsel for indigent litigants in certain civil cases, such as parental termination cases, Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 107.013, juvenile delinquency cases, id. § 51.10, and cases in which court-ordered mental health services are involved. Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 574.003. But the appointment of counsel for indigent litigants in other civil cases, like the one before us, is left to the discretion of district courts. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 24.016; Gibson v. Tolbert, 102 S.W.3d 710, 712 (Tex. 2003).
Nevertheless, we are not unsympathetic to the difficulties pro se litigants may experience while navigating the judicial system. We therefore grant appellant a thirty-day extension to file his brief. Appellant is HEREBY ORDERED to file his brief by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Should appellant fail to timely file his brief, this appeal shall be dismissed for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(1), 42.3(b), (c).