Court Opinion

ID: 9830349
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 20:08:11.437658+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:19.967734
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION EOR REHEARING.
This case was affirmed at a former day of this term, and now comes before us on appellant’s motion for rehearing. We held in the original opinion that the statement of facts, not being approved by the judge, could not be considered.
Appellant has filed a motion setting up the diligence used by him, or rather showing why the statement of facts was not approved by the judge. Appended to the motion is the affidavit of the district clerk, stating that he received the statement of facts by mail, accompanied by letter from Judge Benjamin H. Denton, who tried the case, instructing him, when the attorneys for defendant had signed the same, to file the statement of facts. The judge, in his affidavit, which is appended, states that he had no recollection whatever of receiving the statement of facts, or sending it to the clerk of Red River County, though he might have done so; that, if such statement was sent to him by the district attorney, and agreed to and signed by him, and he sent the same to clerk of the District Court of Red River County with instructions to file it, then it was an oversight on his part if not approved by himself. These two affidavits leave the matter in confusion. The clerk does not say that he ever received the statement of facts and letter from the judge, but the affidavit is open to the construction that he must have received the same from the attorneys, because the statement of facts in the record is signed by the attorneys. The judge was not authorized to approve the statement of facts in advance of the agreement of the attorneys representing the State and defendant that it was a correct statement. So we take it that the attorneys must have received a letter .from the judge, as stated by the clerk; and that they then, either the district attorney or defendant’s attorney, agreed on statement of facts and signed the same and forwarded it with the judge’s letter to the clerk; whereas they should then have forwarded said statement to the judge for his approval. The judge himself appears to have no recollection of having *334seen the statement at all, and, if he sent such statement and his approval was left off, it was by inadvertence or mistake.
In accordance with the decisions, the onus was on appellant to show by his supporting affidavits to the motion that the want of diligence was not his, but that of the judge. Appellant or his counsel should have made it appear distinctly in some affidavit that, after the district attorney and defendant’s counsel had agreed to the statement of facts, and signed the same, it was forwarded to the judge who tried the.case, and he forwarded it to the clerk—failing to place his approval thereon. If such had been the showing, it would have come under the case of Yawn v. State, 37 Texas Crim. Rep., 205. The burden being on appellant to show the facts, and the affidavits here presented not showing the failure to use diligence was the fault of the judge, and riot that of appellant, we can not presume in his favor, and supply a statement not contained in the affidavits. We hold, therefore, that the statement of facts can not be considered as a part of the record. We see no occasion to review the matters heretofore discussed in the original opinion. The motion for rehearing is overruled.

Overruled.