Opinion
No. 04-16-00094-CV
04-27-2016
IN THE INTEREST OF K.A.C.G.F. AND J.E.G.F., CHILDREN
From the 73rd Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2015-PA-00383
Honorable Martha Tanner, Judge Presiding
ORDER
In this accelerated appeal of the February 17, 2016 order terminating Appellant's parental rights, on April 7, 2016, this court granted Appellant's motion for extension of time to file the brief until April 25, 2016. We warned Appellant that "[f]urther motions for extension of time to file Appellant's brief will be disfavored."
On the brief's due date, Appellant's counsel filed a second motion for an extension of time to file the brief until May 16, 2016, a due date eighty-nine days after the notice of appeal was filed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(a); see also TEX. R. JUD. ADMIN. 6.2, http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1343593/Rules-of-Judicial-Administration-updated-with-amendments-effective-March-22-2016-.pdf (directing courts of appeals to dispose of SAPCR suits "[w]ithin 180 days of the date the notice of appeal is filed").
Appellant's motion is GRANTED. Appellant's brief must be filed with this court not later than May 16, 2016. NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO FILE APPELLANT'S BRIEF WILL BE GRANTED.
If Appellant fails to file the brief as ordered, we will immediately abate this appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for an abandonment hearing. See, e.g., TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b); see also TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 107.013 (West Supp. 2015) (requiring the trial court to appoint counsel to represent an indigent parent in a parental termination case); In re K.S.M., 61 S.W.3d 632, 633 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2001, no pet.) ("Like indigent criminal appellants, indigent appellants challenging an order terminating their parental rights enjoy a right to counsel on appeal."); cf. TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b); Samaniego v. State, 952 S.W.2d 50, 52-53 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1997, no pet.).
/s/_________
Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 27th day of April, 2016.
/s/_________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court