John Michael Bell v. State ( 2018 )

NUMBER 13-18-00045-CR
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
JOHN MICHAEL BELL, Appellant,
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.
On appeal from the 272nd District Court
of Brazos County, Texas.
ORDER OF ABATEMENT
Before Justices Contreras, Longoria, and Hinojosa
Order Per Curiam
Currently pending before the Court is appellant's motion for pro se access to the
appellate record and motion for extension of time to file a pro se brief. 1 Appellant's
1 This case is before the Court on transfer from the Tenth Court of Appeals in Waco pursuant to a
docket equalization order issued by the Supreme Court of Texas. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 73.001
(West, Westlaw through 2017 1st C.S.).
counsel has filed an Anders brief herein and appellant has been unable to examine the
record so that he can file a pro se brief.
The State of Texas has filed an objection to pro se appellant receiving physical
copies of portions of the record, specifically State’s Exhibits 21-25. The State submits
these exhibits contain sensitive personal or financial information that should not be
disseminated.
Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure prohibit certain sensitive information from
being included in a public record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.10. Accordingly, this appeal is
ABATED and the cause REMANDED to the trial court. Upon remand, the judge of the
trial court shall immediately cause notice to be given and conduct a hearing to determine
whether portions of the record contain sensitive personal or financial information which
should be redacted or in some manner removed from the copy of the record that is being
provided to appellant.
Once it is determined whether portions of the record should be redacted or
removed, it is hereby ORDERED that the trial court ensure that appellant has the
opportunity to fully examine the appellate record and it is FURTHER ORDERED that the
trial court notify this Court as to the date upon which the appellate record was made
available to appellant. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014).
Appellant’s motion for extension of time to file a pro se brief is GRANTED.
Appellant shall have thirty (30) days from the day the appellate record was first made
available to him to file his pro se brief with this Court. The State shall have twenty days
thereafter to file its response, if any.
2
IT IS SO ORDERED.
PER CURIAM
Do not publish.
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
Delivered and filed the
12th day of July, 2018.
3