Opinion
10-23-00369-CR
12-18-2024
PAUL DOUGLAS CHANEY, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
From the 18th District Court Johnson County, Texas Trial Court No. DC-F202300268
Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith
ABATEMENT ORDER
PER CURIAM
Appellant was convicted of one count of evading arrest with a vehicle-deadly weapon and one count of possession of a controlled substance. The second issue in appellant's brief challenges the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to suppress appellant's statement to law enforcement because appellant's Miranda rights were not intelligently, knowingly, or voluntarily waived. In essence, appellant challenges the voluntariness of his statement.
When the voluntariness of a statement is challenged, article 38.22, section 6, of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure requires the trial court to make written fact findings and conclusions of law as to whether the challenged statement was made voluntarily. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 38.22 § 6. Article 38.22, section 6, is mandatory and requires a trial court to file its findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the voluntariness of a statement regardless of whether or not the defendant requests the findings and conclusions or objects to the absence of such. See Sandoval v. State, 665 S.W.3d 496, 51920 (Tex. Crim. App. 2022); Vasquez v. State, 411 S.W.3d 918, 920 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); Urias v. State, 155 S.W.3d 141, (Tex. Crim. App. 2004). The appellate record confirms that the trial court did not make the required findings and conclusions.
Accordingly, we ABATE this appeal and REMAND the case to the trial court to, within 21 days from the date of this Order, make the required findings and conclusions and deliver them to the trial court clerk for filing. A supplemental Clerk's Record containing the required findings and conclusions must be filed with this Court within 28 days from the date of this Order.
Appeal abated and remanded.