Opinion
No. 06-16-00155-CR
10-19-2016
ROY BROWN, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 102nd District Court Bowie County, Texas
Trial Court No. 11F0886-102 Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ. ORDER
Roy Brown was convicted by a Bowie County jury of continuous sexual abuse of a child under fourteen years of age and of sexual assault of a child. On July 28, 2016, the trial court sentenced Brown to fifty years' imprisonment for the continuous sexual abuse conviction and twenty years' imprisonment for the sexual assault conviction, with the sentences running concurrently. Although Brown retained counsel to represent him on appeal, he has filed a motion with this Court asking that we return jurisdiction to the trial court through abatement for purposes of an indigence hearing to determine whether he is entitled to a free record on appeal.
In light of the declarations contained in Brown's motion, we abate this matter to the trial court so that it may conduct whatever hearings are necessary to make the following determinations: (1) whether Brown still desires to prosecute his appeal and (2) whether Brown is indigent for purposes of obtaining a free reporter's record on appeal. If Brown is determined to be indigent for purposes of obtaining a free record on appeal, then the trial court shall instruct the court reporter to prepare the reporter's record in this matter with no cost to Brown.
The trial court may enter any orders necessary to implement these directives. Any hearing shall be conducted by the trial court within ten days of the date of this order. Appropriate orders and findings shall be sent to this Court in the form of a supplemental clerk's record within ten days of the date of the hearing contemplated by this order. The reporter's record of any hearing shall be filed with this Court within ten days of the date of the hearing contemplated by this order.
All appellate timetables are stayed and will resume on our receipt of the supplemental appellate record.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
BY THE COURT Date: October 19, 2016