Opinion
No. 05-15-01144-CR
04-21-2017
ERNEST EDWARD GAINES, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 282nd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F-0556570-S
ORDER
Before the Court are two pro se motions filed by Ernest Edward Gaines on April 19, 2017, titled "First Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Motion for Rehearing," and "Motion for Rehearing." The bodies of these motions reflect they relate to this Court's denial of Gaines's March 6, 2017 Motion to Abate and not to the opinion issued by this Court on April 7, 2017. Accordingly, we construe the motion for rehearing as requesting we reconsider our ruling on the March 6, 2017 Motion to Abate. Because our plenary power over this appeal has not expired, see TEX. R. APP. P. 19.1(a), we may address these two motions.
As to Gaines's request that we reconsider our ruling on the March 6, 2017 Motion to Abate, on February 20, 2017, Gaines filed a Motion to Compel Action to Order and Third Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Pro Se Brief or response to Ander's Brief. We denied this motion on March 2, 2017, and on March 3, 2017, provided notice to Gaines's attorney that the appeal would be submitted without oral argument on April 6, 2017. On March 6, 2017, Gaines filed a pro se brief and a pro se motion requesting that, if we granted the February 20, 2017 motion, we also "hold [his] Appellant's Pro Se appeal brief in ABATE" to allow him to review the entire trial record. We denied the March 6, 2017 Motion to Abate as moot because we had denied the February 20, 2017 motion.
The relief sought by Gaines in his April 19, 2017 Motion for Rehearing is that we reinstate the appeal. However, we denied Gaines's request to abate his "appeal brief," and the appeal was never abated. Rather, we proceeded with the submission of the appeal, and considered Gaines's pro se appeal brief in reaching our conclusion there was no arguable issue in this appeal. See Gaines v. State, No. 05-15-01144-CR, 2017 WL 1291685, at *2 (Tex. App.—Dallas Apr. 7, 2017, no pet. h.) (mem. op., not designated for publication). Accordingly, we DENY Gaines's April 19, 2017 Motion for Rehearing. We DENY the April 19, 2017 First Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Motion for Rehearing as moot.
/s/ ROBERT M. FILLMORE
JUSTICE