Opinion
05-23-00118-CR
12-13-2023
JAMES ANTHONY GUTIERREZ, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 366th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 366-81270-2021
ORDER
ERIN A. NOWELL JUSTICE
We REINSTATE this appeal.
Appellant's brief is overdue; the brief was originally due June 15, 2023. We abated this appeal for the trial court to hold a hearing and make findings and recommendations concerning appellant's counsel, Kristin Brown's, failure to file the brief. The trial court held the hearing on December 4, 2023. The trial court found Ms. Brown "was not able to adequately devote necessary time to perfect a proper appeal" due to her other professional responsibilities and because of a family medical emergency. The trial court also found that the appeal had not been abandoned and that appellant does not require new counsel. Ms. Brown requested that the trial court recommend an extension of at least forty-five days to file the brief, given the holiday timeframe. The trial court recommends that Ms. Brown be granted sixty days to file appellant's brief.
We accept the trial court's findings and recommendation. We grant Ms. Brown an extension of sixty days from the December 4, 2023 hearing, and we ORDER Ms. Brown to file appellant's brief on or before FEBRUARY 2, 2024.