Opinion
13-22-00480-CV
11-16-2022
IN THE INTEREST OF J.P.S., A CHILD
On appeal from County Court at Law No. 5 of Nueces County, Texas
Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Benavides and Tijerina
ORDER
PER CURIAM
On October 7, 2022, appellant Cayla Payne filed a notice of appeal from a final order terminating her parental rights. The intermediate appellate courts are directed to ensure "as far as reasonably possible" that parental termination appeals are brought to final disposition within 180 days of the date the notice of appeal is filed. See Tex. R. Jud. Admin. 6.2(a). Accordingly, these cases are governed by the rules of appellate procedure for accelerated appeals, which include expedited deadlines and procedures. See Tex. R. App. P. 28.4; Tex. R. Jud. Admin. 6.2(a). Under these expedited deadlines, the reporter's record in this case should have been filed on October 17, 2022. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b), 35.1(b).
On October 24, 2022, the Clerk of this Court informed the court reporter, Victoria Ortiz, that the reporter's record was late and requested that she file the record by November 3, 2022. On October 28, 2022, Ortiz requested an extension until November 7, 2022. The Court granted an extension and ordered Ortiz to file the reporter's record by November 14, 2022.
However, on November 14, Ortiz requested another extension, explaining for the first time that two volumes of the reporter's record "were taken by another reporter" and that Ortiz had been unable to contact this other unidentified reporter. Ortiz has since informed the Court that the other reporter is JoAnna Farias. As we understand it, Farias was not aware of the need to prepare her portion of the record until this week.
The reporter's record in this case is already a month overdue from when it should have been filed. To ensure the Court meets its 180-day mandate, we order Ortiz and Farias to file a complete reporter's record by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 28, 2022. If Ortiz and Farias fail to comply with this deadline, the Court will issue a show cause order for them to appear and explain why they should not be held in contempt.
Finally, the parties are ordered to follow the briefing deadlines for accelerated appeals. See id. R. 38.6. A request for extension by either party will be disfavored absent extraordinary circumstances.