Opinion
No. 05-19-00302-CV
06-19-2019
IN RE DAVID R. BARNES, Relator
Original Proceeding from the 302nd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DF-11-11126
ORDER
Before Justices Bridges, Schenck, and Carlyle
Before the Court are relator's petition for writ of mandamus and relator's motion to seal court records. The trial court signed a sealing order on November 15, 2011 in cause number DF-11-11126. The sealing order provides that all documents bearing the trial court cause number 11-11126 "shall be sealed and that the file be set aside, except those documents that are required by law to be recorded in the minutes of the Court." We GRANT relator's motion to seal court records, ORDER the Clerk of the Court to remove the documents filed in this original proceeding from the Court's publicly-accessible website, and ORDER this original proceeding SEALED. The documents shall not be released except on order of this Court.
This original proceeding arises from temporary orders signed in the 302nd Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas on December 21, 2018. The presiding judge of the 302nd Judicial District Court changed effective January 1, 2019. Rule 7.2(b) requires this Court to abate this proceeding to allow the successor judge, the Honorable Judge Sandra Jackson, to reconsider the December 21, 2018 temporary orders. See TEX. R. APP. P. 7.2(b) ("If the case is an original proceeding under Rule 52, the court must abate the proceeding to allow the successor to reconsider the original party's decision.").
Accordingly, we ABATE this original proceeding pursuant to rule 7.2(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. This case is removed from the Court's active docket until further order of this Court to allow the successor judge to reconsider the December 21, 2018 ruling of the former judge of the 302nd Judicial District Court. The parties shall timely notify this Court of all events affecting the status of this case, including when the successor judge has ruled in accordance with rule 7.2(b). We ORDER the parties to file either a status report or a motion to dismiss with this Court by August 17, 2019.
/s/ CORY L. CARLYLE
JUSTICE