Opinion
No. 04-14-00756-CR
01-16-2015
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellant v. Courven Terrel THOMAS, Appellee
From the County Court At Law No 2, Guadalupe County, Texas
Trial Court No. CCL-14-0533
Honorable Frank Follis, Judge Presiding
ORDER
After the trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress, appellant timely filed a written request for findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Court of Criminal Appeals held in State v. Cullen that "upon request of the losing party on a motion to suppress evidence, the trial court shall state its essential findings." 195 S.W.3d 696, 699 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). "By 'essential findings' we mean that the trial court must make findings of fact and conclusions of law adequate to provide an appellate court with a basis upon which to review the trial court's application of the law to the facts." Id. No findings of fact or conclusions of law relative to appellant's motion to suppress appear in the clerk's record or the reporter's record. See id. (holding findings and conclusions need to be recorded in some way, whether written out and filed by the trial court, or stated on the record at the hearing).
Accordingly, we order this matter abated and remanded to the trial court for preparation of findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Cullen. See Oages v. State, 210 S.W.3d 643, 644 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (where State timely requested findings of fact and conclusions of law but trial court failed to prepare them, court sua sponte vacated court of appeals judgment and remanded matter to court of appeals for further proceedings consistent with Cullen). We order the trial court to make the findings of fact and conclusions of law and record them either in writing or orally at a hearing in open court with all counsel present. The trial court shall make its findings and conclusions on or before February 17, 2015. If the trial court makes written findings of fact and conclusions of law, it shall deliver them to the trial court clerk, and if so delivered, we order the trial court clerk to prepare a supplemental clerk's record containing the trial court's written findings and conclusions and file it in this court on or before fifteen days from the date the trial court completes its findings and conclusions. If the trial court decides to hold a hearing and make its findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record in open court, the court reporter is ordered to record them and to file a reporter's record of the hearing in this court on or before fifteen days from the date of the hearing. After the findings of fact and conclusions of law are filed in this court, we will reinstate the matter and set a due date for appellant's brief.
We further order the clerk of this court to serve a copy of this order upon the trial court, the trial court clerk, the court reporter, and all counsel.
/s/_________
Rebeca C. Martinez, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 16th day of January, 2015.
/s/_________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court