Opinion
Appellate case number: 01-19-00363-CR
12-19-2019
The State of Texas v. John Wright
ORDER OF ABATEMENT Trial court case number: CC18-152 Trial court: County Court at Law of Waller County
This is an appeal from the trial court's granting of a motion to suppress filed by appellee. The State has filed a motion requesting that our Court abate the appeal and remand the case to the trial court to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law. In the motion, the State asserts that it filed a request with the trial court, but the trial court has failed to issue its findings of fact and conclusions of law. We denied the State's motion for failure to comply with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 297's requirement that the requesting party file a notice of past due findings of fact and conclusions of law. The State subsequently complied with Rule 297 and filed a "Response to Denial of Motion to Remand" renewing its request that we abate the appeal. We consider the State's response to be a new motion to abate. The motion is GRANTED.
A trial court must make findings of fact and conclusions of law when requested by the losing party on a motion to suppress evidence. See State v. Cullen, 195 S.W.3d 696, 699-700 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand for the trial court to enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law, separate and apart from any docket sheet notations in this case, regarding the granting of appellee's motion to suppress. See id. at 699 (holding that trial court must provide findings of fact and conclusions of law adequate to provide appellate court with basis to review trial court's application of law to facts, either in writing or on record at hearing); TEX. R. APP. P. 44.4. The trial court shall make the appropriate findings and conclusions and shall cause them to be filed with the trial court clerk within 20 days of the date of this order. We further order the trial court clerk to file a supplemental clerk's record containing the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law with this Court within 30 days of the date of this order.
This appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this Court's active docket. The appeal will be reinstated on this Court's active docket without further order of the Court when the supplemental clerk's record is filed in this Court.
It is so ORDERED. Judge's signature: /s/ Gordon Goodman
Acting individually Date: December 19, 2019