in the Interest of B.G.G., A/K/A A.G., and J.J.G., A/K/A J.G., Children v. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 10, 2019
• Docket: 14-19-00278-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motion Denied and Order filed May 10, 2019

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-19-00278-CV ____________

In the Interest of B.G.G., a/k/a A.G., and J.J.G., a/k/a J.G., children

On Appeal from the 309th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2017-60051

ORDER

This is an accelerated appeal from a judgment in a parental termination appeal. The judgment was signed December 20, 2018, and the notice of appeal was filed December 26, 2018, but the notice of appeal was not forwarded to this court until April 2, 2019. The record was complete as of April 9, 2019.

Appellant, B.G. (Mother), is represented by appointed counsel, Bradley Tilton. Mother’s brief was due April 29, 2019. Because no brief was filed, on April 30, 2019, we issued an order directing Tilton to file Mother’s brief by May 10, 2019.

On May 9, 2019, Tilton filed an unopposed motion to extend time to file Mother’s brief. The motion states in relevant part: • Tilton was appointed on February 7, 2019 but did not learn of the appointment until April 2, 2019, when Mother’s trial counsel informed him;

• Tilton was busy on another matter and unable to turn to this case until the following week;

• Tilton did not receive notice that the record had been filed in this court;

• On April 18, 2019, Tilton filed a notice of appearance as counsel in this court;

• Also on April 18, 2019, unaware that the record had been filed, Tilton filed a motion in the trial court for a free copy of the record; and

• Tilton has still not been able to access the “case file” from the district clerk’s website.

The motion asks for a 30-day extension (until Sunday, June 9, 2019) to file the brief.

“[S]o far as reasonably possible,” appeals in parental termination cases and child protection cases are to be brought to final disposition within 180 days of the date the notice of appeal is filed. See Tex. R. Jud. Admin. 6.2(a) (effective May 1, 2012). This accelerated schedule requires greater compliance with briefing deadlines. Even though we did not learn of this appeal until 98 days after the notice of appeal was filed—more than halfway through the 180-day period—we are still bound to bring this appeal to final disposition by the deadline of June 24, 2019. Tilton’s requested extension would leave just two weeks for the appellee, the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services (the Department), to file its brief and this court to issue its opinion.

Accordingly, we DENY the motion to extend time and issue the following order:

1. The clerk’s record and reporter’s record may be downloaded from our Attorney Record Portal. Instructions regarding the portal may be found on the court’s website. 2. Documents that are part of the record below but not yet part of the record on appeal may be included in the appendix to a party’s brief, with a notation that the official document has been requested for the district clerk. Further instructions are published on the court’s website.

3. Tilton shall file Mother’s brief no later than May 20, 2019. If the brief is not filed by that date, we will decide this appeal based on the record before this court. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(2). 4. The Department may file a brief in this case, regardless of whether an appellants’ brief is filed. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(3).

5. The court will not delay submission of the appeal or issuance of its opinion awaiting Mother’s brief or the Department’s brief.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Christopher, Bourliot, and Zimmerer.