Engwin Williams v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: September 6, 2018
• Docket: 14-17-00621-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Appeal Reinstated; Order filed September 6, 2018

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-17-00621-CR ____________

ENGWIN WILLIAMS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 351st District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1517569

ORDER

On April 12, 2018, this court issued an order abating the appeal and permitting (1) appellant the opportunity to properly file and present a motion for new trial; (2) the trial court the opportunity to rule on such a motion; and (3) the parties the opportunity to supplement the record. The order instructed that the “timetable applicable to a motion for new trial shall begin as if appellant was sentenced on the date this order issues.” Therefore, appellant’s motion for new trial was due on or before May 14, 2018. Tex. R. App. P. 21.4. Appellant timely filed a motion for new trial on May 10, 2018. The trial court has not ruled on the motion for new trial. Therefore, the motion was denied by operation of law 75 days after April 12, 2018, or June 26, 2018. See Tex. R. App. P. 21.8.

On August 6, 2018, the trial court requested a continuing abatement to hold a hearing on appellant’s motion for new trial August 10, 2018. On August 10, 2018, the State filed a motion to reinstate the appeal in opposition to the request for continued abatement.

We deny the request to continue the abatement and grant the State’s motion to reinstate the appeal. The trial court does not have jurisdiction to hold a hearing on the motion for new trial or to grant a new trial. See State v. Moore, 225 S.W.3d 556, 569 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (“[T]he trial court’s authority to rule on a motion for new trial extends to the seventy-fifth day . . . after sentence is imposed or suspended in open court.”).

The State’s motion is granted. The appeal is reinstated. Appellant’s brief is due 30 days from the date of this order.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Busby, Brown, and Jewell.