In Re: The Commitment of Terry Hornbuckle v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 29, 2023
• Docket: 02-23-00070-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-23-00070-CV ___________________________

IN RE: THE COMMITMENT OF TERRY HORNBUCKLE

On Appeal from the 372nd District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. D372-S-14054-18

Before Bassel, Womack, and Wallach, JJ. Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion MEMORANDUM OPINION

On March 6, 2023, we received a document entitled “Notice of Appeal

Pursuant to Provisions of §[ ]841.146, Texas Health [and Safety] Code.” That same

day, we sent the parties a letter informing them that we had received a copy of the

notice of appeal in this case but that it appeared that the notice of appeal was

premature because the trial court judge had not signed an order. See Tex. R. App. P.

26.1(a), 27.1. We gave the parties reasonable time to correct the defect in the record,

see Tex. R. App. P. 44.3, 44.4(a)(2), but did not receive a signed order.

We sent the parties a second letter on May 12, 2023, informing them that upon

review of the record, it appeared that the trial court judge had sent the parties an

emailed letter ruling on “Respondent’s Unauthorized Petition for Release” and had

asked the State’s attorney to prepare an order for the judge to sign. We further stated

that this order is not contained in the clerk’s record, however, and that the trial court

clerk had informed this court that no order was ever signed. We permitted the parties

another opportunity to correct the defect in the record, giving them until June 1,

2023, to furnish this court a signed copy of the order that Appellant seeks to appeal.

See Tex. R. App. P. 44.3, 44.4(a)(2). We stated that if no order was signed and

furnished by that date, this appeal would be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. See

Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).

The deadline has passed, and we have not a received a signed copy of a final

judgment or appealable order. We thus dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

2 See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f); see Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195

(Tex. 2001) (explaining that an appellate court has jurisdiction over appeals from final

judgments and from certain interlocutory orders made appealable by statute).

Per Curiam

Delivered: June 29, 2023