Opinion
No. 05-05-01324-CV
Opinion Filed April 11, 2006.
On Appeal from the 192nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. 05-05777-K.
Dismiss.
Before Justices WRIGHT, O'NEILL, and FRANCIS.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
The Court has before it appellant John A. Estrada, Sr.'s April 3, 2006 "Response to letter dated March 22." In his letter, appellant asserts that he will not be paying for the clerk's record in this appeal because he is indigent.
By order dated January 12, 2006, we ordered the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine whether appellant was indigent and abated the appeal to allow the trial court to comply with our order. We reinstated the appeal on January 30, 2006 upon receiving a supplemental clerk's record containing the trial court's findings pursuant to the hearing. We adopted the trial court's findings that appellant did not file an affidavit of indigence with his notice of appeal and concluded that appellant was not indigent. We noted that the clerk's record was due on December 14, 2006 and that the clerk had already prepared the clerk's record and was awaiting payment of the $229 fee. We ordered appellant to file written verification within ten days that he had paid or made arrangements to pay for the clerk's record and warned that failure to comply with the order could result in dismissal of his case.
Instead of providing written verification that he had made payment arrangements, appellant filed objections to the trial court's findings, which we overruled by order dated February 8, 2006. On February 9, 2006, he filed an objection to our order adopting the trial court's findings and a request to proceed in forma pauperis. We explained that an appellant must file an affidavit of indigence at the same time that he files his notice of appeal, overruled appellant's objection to our order, and instructed that we would not entertain any more motions on the subject of appellant's indigency status. We again ordered him to file written verification by March 15, 2006 that he had made payment arrangments with the clerk and again warned that his failure to comply with our order could result in dismissal of his appeal.
The Court received appellant's brief on March 16, 2006. By letter dated March 22, 2006, we explained that the Court will not consider appellant's brief without a clerk's record because the Court reviews the clerk's record to determine whether we have jurisdiction over an appeal. We cited Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 37.3(b), providing that if no clerk's record is filed due to appellant's fault, the appellate court may dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution unless the appellant was entitled to proceed without payment of costs. We reaffirmed that appellant is not entitled to proceed without payment of costs and directed him to file, within ten days from the date of the letter, proof that he had made payment arrangements. For the third time, we warned that if he failed to comply, his appeal would be subject to dismissal without further notice.
Again, appellant has failed to make payment arrangements to pay for the clerk's record. We therefore DISMISS his appeal for want of prosecution and for failing to abide by an order of this Court. See Tex.R.App.P. 37.3 (b); 42.3 (b),(c).