Helen Mayfield v. Harris County

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 10, 2012
• Docket: 14-12-00308-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order filed May 10, 2012.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-12-00308-CV ____________

HELEN MAYFIELD, Appellant

V.

THE EAGLE NEWSPAPER, HOLLY HUFFMAN, MATTHEW WATKINS & JOHN P. BARNWELL, CEO OF THE EVENING POST PUBLISHING CO., JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY, Appellees

On Appeal from the 129th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2011-26254

ORDER On March 27, 2012, appellant filed a notice of appeal from the order sustaining the contest to her affidavit of indigence signed on or about March 19, 2012. Appellant previously filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s judgment signed on or about December 12, 2011, and an appeal is pending under our case number 14-12-00034-CV. Appellant seeks to proceed without the advance payment of costs in her appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 20.1.

An appellant is entitled to challenge the denial of indigent status for her appeal, and the court of appeals may order the record necessary for a review of the trial court’s ruling without the advance payment of costs. See In re Arroyo, 988 S.W.2d 737, 738-39 (Tex. 1998). Accordingly, we issue the following order: We order the Harris County District Clerk to file a partial clerk’s record with the clerk of this court on or before June 8, 2012. See Tex. R. App. P. 34.5(c)(1). The partial clerk’s record shall contain (1) the judgment being appealed; (2) any motion for new trial, other post-judgment motion, or request for findings of fact and conclusions of law; and (3) the notice of appeal; (4) appellant’s affidavit of indigency; (5) the contest(s) to the affidavit of indigence, if any; (6) the trial court’s order ruling on any contest; (7) any other documents pertaining to the claim of indigence and the contest(s) thereto.

We further order Cynthia Berry, the official court reporter for the 129th District Court to file a partial reporter’s record from the hearing on the contest(s) to appellant’s affidavit of indigence on or before June 8, 2012. See Tex. R. App. P. 34.6. If no record was reported, the court reporter shall advise this court within the time period for filing the partial record.

PER CURIAM