COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE

FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

ORDER OF ABATEMENT

Appellate case name: Ex parte Shawn Paul Robinson

Appellate case number: 01-22-00583-CR

Trial court case number: 1751891

Trial court: 351st District Court of Harris County

Appellant, through counsel, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s order 

denying his application for writ of habeas corpus. The complete appellate record has been 

filed with this Court. After a review of the appellate record, on August 18, 2022, the Court 

ordered the parties to submit briefing. See TEX. R. APP. P. 31.1. The Court’s order set a 

deadline for appellant to file his brief on or before September 7, 2022. However, no brief 

was filed. Accordingly, on September 20, 2022, the Court notified appellant unless he filed 

his brief within ten days of the Court’s notice, the appeal would be abated and the trial 

court would be directed to conduct a hearing to determine the reason for the failure to 

timely file a brief.

Appellant did not file a brief in response to the Court’s September 20, 2022 notice. 

Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand for the trial court to immediately conduct a 

hearing at which a representative of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and 

appellant’s appointed counsel, Mark Bennett, shall be present. TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b)(2). 

Appellant shall also be present for the hearing in person or, if he is incarcerated, at the trial 

court’s discretion, he may participate in the hearing by closed-circuit video 

teleconferencing.1

The trial court is directed to:

(1) determine whether appellant wishes to prosecute the appeal; 

(2) if appellant wishes to prosecute the appeal, determine whether good cause exists 

to relieve Mark Bennett of his duties as appellant’s counsel; 

1 Any such teleconference must use a closed-circuit video teleconferencing system that 

provides for a simultaneous compressed full motion video and interactive communication 

of image and sound between the trial court, appellant, and any attorneys representing the 

State or appellant. On his request, appellant and his counsel shall be able to communicate 

privately without being recorded or heard by the trial court or the State’s attorney.
2

(3) if good cause exists, enter a written order relieving Mark Bennett of his duties 

as appellant’s counsel, including in the order the basis for and finding of good 

cause, and appointing substitute appellate counsel at no expense to appellant;

(4) if good cause does not exist, set a date when appellant’s brief is due, no later 

than twenty days from the date of the hearing, regardless of whether this Court 

has yet reinstated the appeal;

(5) make any other findings and recommendations the trial court deems 

appropriate; and

(6) enter written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations as to 

these issues.

See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 1.051(a), (c), (d)(1), 26.04(j)(2); TEX. R. APP. P.

38.8(b).

The trial court shall have a court reporter record the hearing and file the reporter’s 

record with this Court within ten days of the date of hearing conducted by the trial court in 

accordance with this order. The trial court clerk is directed to file a supplemental clerk’s 

record containing the trial court’s findings and recommendations with this Court within ten

days of the date of the hearing conducted by the trial court in accordance this order. 

The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this Court’s active 

docket. The appeal will be reinstated on this Court’s active docket when the supplemental 

clerk’s record and the reporter’s record of the hearing are filed in this Court. The court 

coordinator of the trial court shall set a hearing date within fourteen days of the date of this 

order and notify the parties and the Clerk of this Court of such date.

It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: ___/s/ Amparo Guerra______

  Acting individually Acting for the Court

Date: ___October 6, 2022_____