Opinion
01-22-00880-CV
11-28-2023
Andrew Hayward Jackson, Jr. v. Fort Bend County, Fort Bend County Drainage District, Fort Bend County Emergency Service District No. 7, Fort Bend County Fresh Water Supply District No. 01, Fort Bend County General Fund, and Fort Bend County Independent School District
Trial court: 240th District Court of Fort Bend County, Trial court case number: 21-DCV-282688.
ORDER
April Farris, Justice.
Appellant, Andrew Hayward Jackson, Jr., incarcerated and proceeding pro se, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's October 25, 2022 final judgment. On November 14, 2023, appellant filed a "Motion for This Court to Appoint Counsel." In his motion, appellant requests that the Court appoint appellate counsel to represent him on appeal because his "health has declined impacting and effecting his vision," causing him an "incapacitation" that makes it difficult for appellant to "research or write his [b]rief."
On November 15, 2023, the Fort Bend Appellees filed a response to appellant's motion, arguing that appellant's motion should be denied because "[a]ppellant has failed to fully comply with Chapter 14" of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem Code Ann. § 14.003(a) (discussing circumstances under which "court may dismiss" civil claim brought by inmate). Appellant filed a reply in support of his motion on November 16, 2023.
We note that on January 24, 2023, this Court issued an order granting appellant's request to proceed without payments of cost on appeal. Despite that, as a general rule, the Texas Supreme Court has "never held that a civil litigant must be represented by counsel in order for a court to carry on its essential, constitutional function." See Travelers Indem. Co. v. Mayfield, 923 S.W.2d 590, 594 (Tex. 1996). However, "in some exceptional cases, the public and private interests at stake are such that the administration of justice may be best served by appointing a lawyer to represent an indigent civil litigant." Id. To this end, the Texas Legislature has provided that, in a civil case, a "district judge may appoint counsel to attend to the cause of a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel to attend the cause." Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 24.016.
Accordingly, this Court lacks the authority to appoint counsel to any party, regardless of their indigency. See In re Burt, Nos. 05-15-01212-CV and 05-15-001213-CV, 2016 WL 6135526, at *1 (Tex. App.-Dallas Oct. 21, 2016, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) ("The trial court has the exclusive responsibility for appointing counsel to represent indigent defendants."); see also Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 24.016 ("A district judge may appoint counsel to attend to the cause of a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel to attend to the cause.") (emphasis added). Further, the appellate record does not reflect that appellant filed a request for appointment of counsel with the trial court.
For those reasons, appellant's motion for this Court to appoint counsel is denied.
We further note that appellant's brief was initially due to be filed on or before August 16, 2023. That deadline was extended, on the motion of appellant, to November 14, 2023. However, when the Court granted appellant's request for extension, he was also notified that "no further extensions" would be granted. The Court's records reflect that appellant has not filed a brief nor a request for a further extension to file a brief.
Appellant is directed to file his brief within twenty days of the date of this order.
Failure to file a brief by this deadline may result in the dismissal of his appeal for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(b), (c).
It is so ORDERED.