Kimberly R. Baker v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 3, 2023
• Docket: 07-22-00286-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-22-00286-CR

KIMBERLY R. BAKER, APPELLANT

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the 297th District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 1511496D, Honorable David C. Hagerman, Presiding

February 3, 2023 ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and DOSS, JJ.

Appellant, Kimberly R. Baker, appeals from the trial court’s judgment adjudicating

her guilty of the offense of theft1 and sentencing her to a year confinement in a state jail

facility.2 The appellate record was originally due January 3, 2023. The clerk’s record was

filed by this deadline, but the reporter’s record was not. By letter of January 11, 2023, we

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 31.03(f). 2Originally appealed to the Second Court of Appeals, this appeal was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalizations efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001. notified the reporter that the record was overdue and directed her to advise this Court of

the status of the record by January 23. To date, the reporter’s record has not been filed

and the reporter has had no further communication with this Court.

Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for further

proceedings. See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(c) (“The trial and appellate courts are jointly

responsible for ensuring that the appellate record is timely filed.”); 37.3(a)(2) (requiring

appellate courts to “make whatever order is appropriate to avoid further delay and to

preserve the parties’ rights” when the appellate record is not timely filed). On remand,

the trial court shall determine the following:

(1) what tasks remain to complete the filing of the reporter’s record;

(2) why the reporter has not completed the necessary tasks;

(3) what amount of time is reasonably necessary for the completion of those

tasks; and

(4) whether the reporter can complete the tasks within the time the trial court

finds reasonable.

Should the trial court determine that the reporter will require more than thirty days

to complete, certify, and file the reporter’s record, it shall arrange for a substitute reporter

to do so. The trial court is directed to enter such orders necessary to address the

aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a

supplemental clerk’s record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by March 6,

2023.

2 Should the reporter file the record on or before February 17, 2023, she is directed

to immediately notify the trial court of the filing, in writing, whereupon the trial court shall

not be required to take any further action.

It is so ordered.

Per Curiam

Do not publish.