Opinion
No. 05-18-00248-CR
04-30-2019
CARLOS DANIEL PADILLA, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 291st Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F16-59454-U
ORDER
We REINSTATE this appeal.
On December 28, 2018, we ordered the trial court to hold a hearing on why appellant's brief had not been filed. We sent a February 15, 2019 letter asking the trial court about the status of the hearing. On March 22, 2019, the trial court held a hearing; those findings of facts and recommendations were filed with this Court on April 29, 2019, over one month later.
We ADOPT the trial court's findings that appellant desires to prosecute the appeal and that retained counsel Matthew Scott Pillado has not abandoned the appeal. The trial court recommended that retained counsel be given an additional twenty-one days in which to file the brief; twenty-one days from the date of the trial court's order would have been April 12, 2019. To date, no brief has been filed, and Mr. Pillado has not communicated with the Court.
We therefore ORDER retained counsel Matthew Scott Pillado to file appellant's brief BY 5:00 P.M. ON MAY 10, 2019. Mr. Pillado is cautioned that the Court will not entertain any further motions from him for any extensions of time in this case. If Mr. Pillado does not file a brief by 5:00 p.m. on May 10, 2019, the Court will initiate contempt proceedings against him for the failure and refusal to obey the Court's order. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b)(4). The Court may also take such other actions as may be appropriate, including filing a grievance against Mr. Matthew Scott Pillado and referring this matter to the State Bar of Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline for further proceedings.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to Matthew Scott Pillado electronically as well as by certified mail at his address as shown in our records. We also DIRECT the Clerk to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Stephanie Mitchell, Presiding Judge, 291st Judicial District Court; to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office; and to Carlos Daniel Padilla, TDCJ# 02186374, Lychner Unit, 2350 Atascocita Road, Humble, TX 77396.
/s/ LANA MYERS
JUSTICE