Stanley Leon Blackwell v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 13, 2020
• Docket: 14-20-00288-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motion Granted; Abatement Order filed August 13, 2020

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-20-00288-CR ____________

STANLEY LEON BLACKWELL, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 1 Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1556832R

ABATEMENT ORDER

On July 21, 2020, counsel for appellant informed this court that appellant died while incarcerated. At the time of that notice, counsel did not yet have a copy of appellant’s death certificate.

The death of an appellant during the pendency of an appeal deprives the court of jurisdiction. See Freeman v. State, 11 S.W.3d 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). When an appellant dies after an appeal is perfected but before this court issues the mandate, the appeal is to be permanently abated. See Tex. R. App. P. 7.1(a)(2); see also Graham v. State, 991 S.W.2d 802, 802–03 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998).

Because we have not received a copy of appellant’s death certificate, we decline to permanently abate this appeal. Instead, we temporarily abate this appeal for sixty days or until counsel provides us with a copy of appellant’s death certificate. When counsel provides a copy of the death certificate, we will permanently abate this appeal. If the death certificate is not provided within sixty days from the date of this order, the appeal will be reinstated.

PER CURIAM

Panel Consists of Justices Spain, Hassan, and Poissant.