Joseph Lee Cantu v. the State of Texas

                                   In The
                              Court of Appeals
                     Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

                                    No. 07-23-00322-CR


                          JOSEPH LEE CANTU, APPELLANT

                                            V.

                          THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

                          On Appeal from the 100th District Court
                                    Hall County, Texas
                  Trial Court No. 4035, Honorable Stuart Messer, Presiding

                                  December 27, 2023
                   ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
                   Before QUINN, C.J., and DOSS and YABROUGH, JJ.

      Appellant, Joseph Lee Cantu, appeals from the trial court’s order placing him on

deferred adjudication community supervision for the offense of evading arrest. The

appellate record was originally due November 14, 2023. The clerk’s record was filed by

that deadline, but the reporter’s record was not. By letter of November 27, 2023, we

notified the reporter that the record was overdue and directed her to advise this Court of

the status of the record by December 7. The reporter has not filed the record or had any

further communication with this Court to date.
       Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for further

proceedings. See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(c) (“The trial and appellate courts are jointly

responsible for ensuring that the appellate record is timely filed.”); 37.3(a)(2) (requiring

appellate courts to “make whatever order is appropriate to avoid further delay and to

preserve the parties’ rights” when the appellate record is not timely filed). On remand,

the trial court shall determine the following:

       (1)    what tasks remain to complete the filing of the reporter’s record;

       (2)    why the reporter has not completed the necessary tasks;

       (3)    what amount of time is reasonably necessary for the completion of those
              tasks; and

       (4)    whether the reporter can complete the tasks within the time the trial court
              finds reasonable.

       Should the trial court determine that the reporter will require more than thirty days

to complete, certify, and file the reporter’s record, it shall arrange for a substitute reporter

to do so. The trial court is directed to enter such orders necessary to address the

aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a

supplemental clerk’s record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by January

26, 2024.

       Should the reporter file the record on or before the date the trial court acts per our

directive, she is directed to immediately notify the trial court of the filing, in writing,

whereupon the trial court shall not be required to take any further action.

       It is so ordered.

                                                           Per Curiam


Do not publish.

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