Allen Bernard Gims v. State

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Appellate case name: Allen Bernard Gims v. The State of Texas

Appellate case number: 01-14-00279-CR

Trial court case number: 1262460

Trial court: 176th District Court of Harris County

Appellant Allen Bernard Gims has filed a “Motion to Abate Appeal” requesting that this Court (1) abate this appeal for the trial court to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding its denial of appellant’s pre-trial motion to suppress his recorded statement, and (2) order the trial court reporter to file a supplemental reporter’s record containing transcripts of the hearings on appellant’s motion to suppress. Since the filing of appellant’s motion, the trial court reporter has filed a supplemental reporter’s record of the suppression hearings. Although appellant asserts that “no findings of fact or conclusions of law have been filed as required by Art. 38.22, § 6” of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the supplemental reporter’s record contains the transcript of a December 11, 2012 hearing in which the trial court entered oral findings of fact and conclusions of law into the record. See State v. Cullen, 195 S.W.3d 696, 699 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (“findings and conclusions need to be recorded in some way, whether written out and filed by the trial court, or stated on the record at the hearing”); Lee v. State, 964 S.W.2d 3, 11-12 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, pet. ref’d) (“The Court of Criminal Appeals and several appellate courts have all held that a trial court complies with article 38.22, section 6 when the judge dictates his findings of facts and conclusions of law to the court reporter and they are later transcribed as part of the statement of facts.”). Accordingly, the motion to abate is denied. The supplemental record has been on file for nearly a month, and appellant’s brief is long overdue. Appellant is ordered to file his brief or a motion for brief extension of time within 3 days of the date of this order. It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: /s/ Michael Massengale  Acting individually

Date: March 5, 2015