Opinion
NO. 14-13-00370-CR
12-17-2013
EARNEST DEMONE HEBERT, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 248th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1364909
ORDER
Appellant is not represented by counsel in this appeal. On October 8, 2013, time to file appellant's brief expired. Appellant and the trial court were notified on October 15, 2013, that no brief had been received. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(b)(2). On October 25, 2013, appellant filed motion for extension of time to file his brief. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(a). In the motion, appellant stated that he has been unable to retain an attorney because he is indigent and cannot afford to pay an attorney. He requested that we abate the appeal for a hearing to determine whether he is indigent and entitled to appointed counsel on appeal. We granted the motion and abated the appeal for the requested hearing. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(b).
The trial court conducted the requested hearing, and a record of that hearing was filed in this court on November 20, 2013. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found that appellant is not indigent for purposes of this appeal. Accordingly, we issue the following order:
We ORDER appellant to file a brief in this appeal on or before January 21, 2014. If appellant is unable to retain counsel, he may file a brief pro se. If appellant fails to file a brief as ordered, the court may decide the appeal without briefs, as justice may require. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(b)(4); Lott v. State, 874 S.W.2d 687, 688 (Tex. Crim. App. 1994); Coleman v. State, 774 S.W.2d 736, 738-39 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1989, no pet.)