Opinion
03-24-00361-CV
07-19-2024
M. B., Appellant v. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Appellee
FROM THE 466TH DISTRICT COURT OF COMAL COUNTY NO. C2023-1410E, THE HONORABLE MELISSA MCCLENAHAN, JUDGE PRESIDING.
Before Chief Justice Byrne, Justices Triana and Kelly
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Darlene Byrne, Chief Justice.
We withdraw the opinion and judgment dated July 17, 2024, and reinstate this appeal.
We dismissed this appeal on a motion by appellant's counsel in which he alternatively requested a fifteen-day extension of time to file the brief. Appellant M.B. on her own has sent this Court a motion asserting that she only recently learned of the appointment of her attorney and requesting an extension of time to consult with an attorney and file a brief. However, we cannot file the pro se motion because appellant is represented by counsel and parties are not entitled to proceed simultaneously representing themselves and being represented by counsel. See Posner v. Dallas Cnty. Child Welfare Unit of Texas Dep't of Hum. Servs., 784 S.W.2d 585, 588 (Tex. App.-Eastland 1990, writ denied); see also Tex.R.Civ.P. 7 ("Any party to a suit may appear and prosecute or defend his rights therein, either in person or by an attorney of the court.") (emphasis added).
We withdraw our opinion and judgment dated July 17, 2024. We grant the motion to extend time to file the brief. Amendments to the rules of judicial administration accelerate the final disposition of appeals from suits for termination of parental rights. See Tex. R. Jud. Admin. 6.2(a) (providing 180 days for court's final disposition). The accelerated schedule requires greater compliance with briefing deadlines. Therefore we order attorney Jason M. Jett to file appellant's brief no later than August 5, 2024. If the brief is not filed by that date, counsel may be required to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of court.
Memorandum Opinion Withdrawn