Opinion
No. 04-14-00761-CR
06-01-2015
David CHARLES, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee
From the 437th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2012CR5564
Honorable Lori I. Valenzuela, Judge Presiding
ORDER
Appellant is represented on appeal by retained counsel Nancy Barohn and Megan Cook. The notice of appeal in this case was filed October 30, 2014, and appellant's brief was originally due to be filed on January 29, 2015.
Following multiple extensions of time to file the brief, based upon counsels' admission they should have sought supplementation of the record much earlier, based upon counsels' failure to ensure certain documents were included in the appellate record, and based upon counsels' ambiguous statements regarding the open-ended possibility of the necessity for additional supplemental reporter's records, on April 15, 2015, this Court ordered Barohn and Cook to file written notice by April 29th, listing all additional records of hearings that might be or will be requested in this appeal and providing copies of the letters sent to the court reporters responsible for preparing all of those records. This Court admonished counsel it is their responsibility to ensure an accurate and complete appellate record is filed.
However, even following this admonishment, Barohn and Cook failed to file the written notice and copies of letters they were ordered to file. In the absence of written notice that any additional reporter's record would be requested and in the absence of compliance with this Court's order, this Court issued an order on May 12, 2015, stating we must deem the appellate record complete, and this Court established a briefing deadline.
Again, on May 22, 2015, Barohn and Cook filed an advisory with this Court stating they "overlooked" the necessity of supplementation of the record with transcription of an additional hearing. In this letter, Barohn and Cook state they anticipate being able to meet the deadline of June 11, 2015, to file appellant's brief.
In light of this most recent correspondence and in light of Barohn and Cook's continued admission of inadvertent failure to provide a complete appellate record, they are again reminded it is their responsibility to ensure an accurate and complete appellate record is prepared and filed. They have been provided ample extensions and opportunities to fulfill this responsibility. The deadline to file appellant's brief remains June 11, 2015. GIVEN THE PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF THIS APPEAL AND THE PREVIOUSLY GRANTED EXTENSIONS , NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO FILE THE APPELLANT'S BRIEF WILL BE GRANTED . If Nancy Barohn or Megan Cook fail to file appellant's brief in this appeal by June 11, 2015, they will be ordered to appear and show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court or otherwise sanctioned.
/s/_________
Jason Pulliam, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 1st day of June, 2015.
/s/_________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court