## NUMBER 13 - 1 8 - 00 527 - CV COURT OF APPEALS THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

IN THE INTEREST OF A.M.L.M., T.W. M. , AND S.L.M. , CHILDREN

On appeal from the 24th District Court of Victoria County, Texas.

ORDER OF ABATEMENT
Before Justices Rodriguez, Longoria, and Hinojosa Order Per Curiam

T h is is a n ap p ea l o f a f i na l o r d e r t e r m i n a t i n g pa re n t a l r ig h t s

. This cause is currently before this Court because appellant L.A.M.’s counsel, the Honorable Mark A. Davis , has failed to timely file appellant’s brief in this matter and is currently suspe nded from the practice of law. 1 Accordingly, as further discussed herein, we abate and remand this

1 See https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Custom s ource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=201542

.2 appeal to the trial court for the appointment of new counsel. Appeals in parental termination and child protection cases are governed by the rules of appellate procedure for accelerated appeals and include additio nal expedited deadlines and procedures. See T EX

. R. A PP

. P . 28.4; T EX

. R. J UD

. A DMIN . 6.2(a) , r e p r i n t e d in T E X

. G O V ’ T C O DE A NN ., tit .2 , s ub tit. F a pp

. ( W e s t, W e stl a w t h ro u g h 2017 1st C.S. ). The appellant's brief is due wit hin twenty days after the later of the date the clerk's record was filed or the date the reporter's record was fil ed, and appellee's brief is due within twenty days after the date the appellant's brief was filed. T EX

. R. A PP

. P. 38.6(a), (b). The intermediate appellate courts are direc ted to ensure "as far as reasonably possible" that appeals are brought to final disposition within 180 days of the date the notice of appeal is filed. T EX

. R. J UD

. A DMIN . 6.2(a). In accordance with the limited time for consideration of these appeals, it is the policy of this Court to limit extensions of time to file a brief to one
ten

- day extension of time absent truly extraordinary circumstances. See T EX

. R. A PP

. P. 38.6(d). L.A.M.’s counsel has failed to timely file appellant’s brief and is currently suspended from the practice of law. O ver 74 days of the total 180 days in which this type of appeal is to be disposed have already passed. See T EX . R. J UD . A DMIN . 6.2(a).
We now ABATE this appeal and REMAND the cause to the trial court for appointment of new counsel. T he trial court SHALL appoint new counsel within seven days of the date of this o rder. The trial court must inform newly appointed counsel that the appellant’s brief is due to be filed within fourteen days after counsel is appointed. We respectfully request the trial court to impress upon the new counsel the necessity of acting expeditiousl y in this case. The trial court shall forward the order appointing new counsel , along with counsel’s full name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, email3 address, and State Bar of Texas identification number t o this Court in the form of a suppl emental clerk’s record within seven days from the date of this order. It is so ORDERED. PER C U RIAM Delivered and filed the 3r d day of December, 2018