Kenia Lashan Wilkins v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: September 2, 2021
• Docket: 14-20-00083-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motion Granted and Abatement Order Filed September 2, 2021

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-20-00083-CR ____________

KENIA LASHAN WILKINS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 339th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1536960

ABATEMENT ORDER

Appellant is represented by appointed counsel. Appellant’s brief was initially due March 25, 2021, but she was granted multiple extensions enabling her to file a timely brief on or before July 13, 2021. Appellant did not provide a brief on that date and this court issued a notice of late brief accordingly.

On August 2, 2021, appellant filed the motion to abate appeal currently before this court. That motion seeks relief based on the fact that a ruling addressing a motion to suppress, centering on a statement made by the appellant, was not included in the clerk’s record or in findings of fact and conclusions of law signed by the trial court on February 22, 2021. According to the motion, this requires the creation of a supplemental clerk’s record including the findings of fact and conclusions of law signed by the trial court on February 22, 2021, as well as supplemental or amended findings of fact and conclusions of law reflecting the trial court’s ruling on the motion to suppress.

Although we conclude the discrepancies in the court record warrant abating this appeal, it is concerning that roughly five months passed between when the trial court issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law and when appellant’s counsel noticed there were issues requiring an abatement. It appears appellant’s counsel had ample opportunity to detect the issues underlying the abatement request well before the present time and possibly eliminate the need for the abatement altogether. Appellant’s motion does not provide any information explaining how counsel only identified those discrepancies several months after the findings of fact and conclusions of law were provided. Even so, as appellant’s motion indicates this is the final action needed before being able to fully litigate this appeal, this court finds the motion meritorious and hereby grants the motion.

The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this court’s active docket pending supplementation of the clerk’s record for this appeal. The Harris County Clerk is instructed to provide a supplemental clerk’s record, containing the findings of fact and conclusions of law signed by the trial court on February 22, 2021 and supplemental or amended findings of fact signed by the trial court addressing objections and rulings made regarding the motion to suppress the defendant’s statement, within 21 days of the date of this order. Appellant shall file

2 her brief no later than 21 days after the supplemental clerk’s record has been provided. No further extensions will be granted to appellant to file a brief absent exceptional circumstances.

PER CURIAM

Panel Consists of Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Zimmerer.