Opinion
No. 05-15-00356-CR
09-15-2015
JASON DANIEL SEWELL, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 219th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 219-82792-2013
ORDER
Appellant's September 10, 2015 motion to abate the appeal is before the Court. In his motion, appellant notes that in transcribing a videotaped interview played at trial, the court reporter reported numerous small portions of the interview as "inaudible." Appellant seeks an abatement and a hearing in the trial court to allow the trial court to determine whether the reporter's record "may be improved by additional examination of the tape" and, if not, to explore "additional alternatives." The videotape itself is admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit One and is included within the record on appeal.
Because the videotape is before the Court, and because a comparison of the videotape and the reporter's record shows many of the "inaudible" portions are in fact comprehensible upon a careful review of the videotape, the Court DENIES appellant's motion. To the extent the parties need to quote or refer to comprehensible portions of the reporter's record that have been recorded as "inaudible," they are instructed to provide both appropriate citations to the reporter's record and to the corresponding timestamp on State's Exhibit One so that the Court may verify the parties' assertions regarding what was said.
We EXTEND the time to file appellant's brief until FOURTEEN DAYS from the date of this order.
/s/ LANA MYERS
JUSTICE