Opinion
No. 08-12-00167-CR
12-19-2014
FABIAN DOUGLAS CASTANEDA, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.
Appeal from the 83 rd District Court of Pecos County, Texas (TC# P-2377-83-CR) ORDER
The Court has reviewed the reporter's record and has determined that the court reporter has failed to file a complete record. More specifically, volume 5 of the reporter's record ends on page 94 with the dismissal of cause number P-2517-83-CR. The reporter's record does not include the remainder of trial on the merits conducted on May 3, 2012 and May 4, 2012 (guilt-innocence and punishment) related to cause number P-2377-83-CR. On October 16, 2014, we ordered the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine whether a portion of the reporter's record has been lost or destroyed and whether Appellant is entitled to a new trial pursuant to TEX.R.APP.P. 34.6(f). The court reporter, Patricia Phelps, subsequently emailed an uncertified and unsigned plaintext (.txt) version of the reporter's record to the Clerk of the Court. In response to that communication, the Court concluded that the missing portion of the reporter's record exists and that a hearing on the issue of whether the court reporter's notes have been destroyed was no longer needed. The Court did not file email attachments because they were not prepared in accordance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters' Records. As of this date, Ms. Phelps still has not filed the missing portion of the reporter's record.
We therefore ORDER Patricia Phelps to prepare, certify, and file the missing portions of the reporter's record no later than January 18, 2015. The Court will not consider a request for an extension of time to file the record except in the most extraordinary of circumstances. The reporter's record must be prepared in accordance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters' Records. The Court prefers that the record be electronically-filed but it will accept a paper version of the record provided it is properly prepared and certified by the court reporter. If Ms. Phelps fails to file the missing volumes by the due date, the Court will re-consider whether Appellant is entitled to a new trial due to the loss of the reporter's record. The Court will also consider whether an order should issue for Ms. Phelps to show cause why she should not be held in contempt of court for failure to file the record.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 19th day of December, 2014.
PER CURIAM Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez and Hughes, JJ.