Opinion
No. 10-18-00092-CV
09-26-2018
IN THE INTEREST OF I.D.C., A CHILD
From the 66th District Court Hill County, Texas
Trial Court No. CV315-17
ORDER
On September 5, 2018, we received the Brief of Appellee in this case. Having reviewed the brief, we issue the following orders:
First, the Brief of Appellee does not contain proper proof of service. A filing party is required to serve a copy of all documents presented to the Court on all parties to the appeal. TEX. R. APP. P. 9.5(a). The documents must contain proof of service. Id. at 9.5(d). Proof of service may be in the form of either an acknowledgement of service by the person served or a certificate of service. Id. A certificate of service must be signed by the person who made the service, and must state (1) the date and manner of service, (2) the name and address of each person served, and (3) if the person served is a party's attorney, the name of the party represented by that attorney. Id. at 9.5(e).
To expedite this matter, we implement Rule of Appellate Procedure 2 to suspend Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.5's proof-of-service requirement for the Brief of Appellee. See id. at 2. The Clerk of this Court is ordered to immediately forward a copy of the Brief of Appellee to the appellant.
Second, the Brief of Appellee is not in compliance with Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.8. See id. at 9.8. Rule 9.8 states that, in an appeal arising out of a case in which the termination of parental rights was at issue, a minor must be identified only by an alias in all papers submitted to the Court, including in all appendix items submitted with a brief or motion, but not in a docketing statement. Id. at 9.8(b)(1). An "alias" is defined as "one or more of a person's initials or a fictitious name, used to refer to the person." Id. at 9.8(a).
All documents sent to this Court in this type of proceeding, other than the docketing statement, must be redacted to comply with Rule 9.8. Id. at 9.8(b)(1). The rule does not require or permit the alteration of the original appellate record. Id. at 9.8(d). But even copies of documents that are included in the original appellate record, when sent in any form or for any purpose other than as part of the formal record, must be made to comply with Rule 9.8.
To expedite this matter, we order that the Brief of Appellee be sealed. See id. at 2. All future filings will be expected to be in compliance with Rule 9.8.
PER CURIAM Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Scoggins
Order issued and filed September 26, 2018