Opinion
05-23-00121-CR 05-23-00122-CR
04-17-2023
MIGUEL MENDEZ, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 1 Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause Nos. F21-58585-H, F21-58586-H
ORDER
ROBERT D. BURNS, III CHIEF JUSTICE
Volume 2 of the clerk's record in each of these appeals is purportedly sealed in that it has the word "SEALED" written on the cover and the index page. Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.10(g) provides, "Sealed portions of the clerk's and reporter's records should be clearly marked and separated from unsealed portions and tendered as separate records, whether in paper form or electronic form." Tex.R.App.P. 9.10(g). The rule also provides, "If a court orders material sealed, . . . the court's sealing order must be . . . the first document that appears if filed in electronic form." Id. The clerk's record does not meet the requirements of Rule 9.10(g).
In trial court cause number F21-58585-H, an order on page 171, the thirty-fourth page of the volume 2, purports to seal "the attached Motions and Notices in the above styled cause." However, there is no order purporting to seal all the documents in volume 2, and the sealing order is not the first document in the volume. In trial court cause number F21-58586-H, the sealing order is the last document in volume 2. The order purports to seal "the attached Motions and Notices in the above styled cause," but there do not appear to be any documents attached to the order, the order does not purport to seal all the documents in the volume, and the sealing order is not the first document in the volume.
We STRIKE volume 2 of the clerk's record in these appeals. We ORDER the Honorable Tina Clinton, Judge Presiding, Criminal District Court No. 1, Dallas County, to determine in each case which documents in volume 2 of the clerk's record should be subject to a sealing order. The trial court shall sign a sealing order identifying the documents from the original volume 2 of the clerk's record to be sealed and ordering sealed those documents the trial court found should be subject to a sealing order. The trial court shall notify the district clerk of the sealing order within THIRTY DAYS of the date of this order.
We ORDER Felicia Pitre, Dallas County District Clerk, to file in each case a new volume 2 of the clerk's record containing the trial court's sealing order and all documents the trial court ordered sealed. The sealing order shall be the first document that appears in the sealed volumes. Any remaining documents not subject to the sealing order shall be filed in a supplemental clerk's record. The new sealed volume 2 of the clerk's record and any unsealed supplemental clerk's records in each case shall be filed with this Court within THIRTY DAYS of the date of the trial court's sealing orders and no later than SIXTY DAYS after the date of this order.
This appeal is ABATED for the trial court to comply with the above order. The appeal will be reinstated when the clerk's record is refiled or at such other time as the Court deems proper.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send copies of this order to the Honorable Tina Clinton, Judge Presiding, Criminal District Court No. 1, Dallas County; Felicia Pitre, Dallas County District Clerk; and counsel for all parties.