Opinion
NUMBER 13-20-00181-CR
11-03-2020
JOSHUA HUIZAR, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.
On appeal from County Court at Law No 11 of Bexar County, Texas.
ORDER OF ABATEMENT
Before Justices Benavides, Hinojosa, and Tijerina
Order Per Curiam
This cause is before the Court on the state's motion for abatement of appeal and remand to the trial court for findings of facts and conclusions of law. According to the motion, the trial court denied motion to suppress statements by allowing a no-contest plea. On February 19, 2020, appellant requested findings of fact and conclusions of law on the motion to suppress. However, the record does not contain the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Article 38.22, section 6, of the code of criminal procedure requires a trial court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether a challenged statement was made voluntarily. Urias v. State, 155 S.W.3d 141 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004).This requirement is mandatory whether or not a defendant objects to the absence of the findings. Id.; Wiker v. State, 740 S.W.2d 779, 783 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987). Accordingly, the intermediate appellate court must exercise its authority under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 44.4, and remand the case to the trial court and order the trial court to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law. TEX. R. APP. PROC. 44.4.
The Court, having considered the documents on file and the state's motion, is of the opinion that the motion should be granted. Accordingly, we GRANT the motion to abate the present appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 44.4. Accordingly, this appeal is ABATED and the cause REMANDED to the trial court.
Upon remand, the trial court is instructed to make and file findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court should also clarify its ruling on the motion to suppress. A supplemental record containing these findings of fact and conclusions of law should be included in a supplemental clerk's record which should be submitted to the Clerk of this Court within thirty days from the date of this order.
Furthermore, state's motion to extend time to file a brief is GRANTED; it is therefore ORDERED appellant's supplemental brief, if any, is due twenty days from the submission of the supplemental record. Furthermore, it is ORDERED state's brief is due thirty days after appellant's supplemental brief is filed. If appellant does not timely file a supplemental brief, state's brief is ORDERED due thirty days after the submission of the supplemental record.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
PER CURIAM Do not publish.
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). Delivered and filed the 3rd day of November, 2020.