Opinion
No. 05-20-00579-CV
07-29-2020
DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFF MARIAN BROWN, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY, Appellant v. DAVID DANIELS, JODIE CAMPBELL, AND KELLIE MCCULLAR, ON BEHALF OF THEMSELVES AND A CLASS OF MEDICALLY-VULNERABLE PERSONS, Appellees
On Appeal from the 298th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-20-07112ORDER
Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Whitehill, and Justice Molberg
This appeal was filed prematurely, after the trial court emailed the parties that it had denied appellant's plea to the jurisdiction but before the court had signed a written order. On June 8, 2020, appellees, medically-vulnerable persons detained in the Dallas County Jail and seeking injunctive relief in the trial court "against the lack of COVID-19 prevention measures" in the jail, moved to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. They also sought alternative relief in the form of an expedited briefing schedule and an emergency temporary order either (1) requiring appellant to reduce crowding in the jail or (2) directing appellant "to provide expedited discovery and schedule a prompt hearing for a determination of whether a temporary injunction should be entered." Appellant filed a response, opposing the dismissal and request for temporary relief but agreeing to an expedited briefing schedule.
We deferred ruling on the motion after the parties informed the Court that proposed orders on the plea had been filed in the trial court but the trial court had not yet signed any order. On July 21, 2020, the trial court signed an order denying the plea, and a copy of the order has been filed in a companion mandamus proceeding, docketed as appellate cause number 05-20-00639-CV. Accordingly, we now determine the motion.
We DENY appellees' motion to the extent it seeks dismissal of the appeal as the order denying the plea confers jurisdiction on the Court, and we DENY the motion to the extent it seeks temporary relief. We GRANT the motion to the extent we ORDER an expedited briefing schedule. Appellant shall file her opening brief no later than August 13, 2020 and appellees shall file their responsive brief no later than August 24, 2020. Appellant may file any reply brief within fifteen days of the filing of appellees' responsive brief.
Appellant's opposed motion to set briefing schedule is DENIED as moot.
/s/ ROBERT D. BURNS, III
CHIEF JUSTICE