Court Opinion

ID: 9371426
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-16 09:11:07.475039+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:27.936855
License: Public Domain

In The
                              Court of Appeals
                     Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

                                   No. 07-23-00036-CR

                             RAY SALAZAR, APPELLANT

                                           V.

                          THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

                          On Appeal from the 299th District Court
                                  Travis County, Texas
            Trial Court No. D-1-DC-16-900145, Honorable Karen Sage, Presiding

                                   February 14, 2023
                   ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
                Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and YARBROUGH, JJ.

      Appellant, Ray Salazar, appeals from the trial court’s order denying his motion for

post-conviction DNA testing. The clerk’s record has been filed. The reporter’s record

was due January 16, 2023, but was not filed because Appellant did not request

preparation nor make payment arrangements for the record. By letter of January 18,

2023, the Third Court of Appeals notified Appellant that the reporter’s record was overdue

and directed him to make any necessary payment arrangements for the reporter’s record

by January 30. The appeal was later transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme
Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001.

The reporter has since notified this Court that Appellant has not requested nor paid for

the reporter’s record to date.1

        Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court. See

TEX. R. APP. P. 37.3(a)(2). Upon remand, the trial court shall utilize whatever means it

finds necessary to determine the following:

        (1)       whether Appellant still desires to prosecute the appeal;

        (2)       whether Appellant is indigent and entitled to have the reporter’s record

                  furnished without charge; and

        (3)       if appellant is not entitled to have the reporter’s record furnished without

                  charge, the date Appellant will make acceptable payment arrangements for

                  the reporter’s record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.2.

        The trial court is also directed to enter such orders necessary to address the

aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a

supplemental clerk’s record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by March 16,

2023.

        It is so ordered.

                                                                     Per Curiam

Do not publish.

        1   We note that Appellant filed a “Declaration of Inability to Pay Cost” with the trial court on March
16, 2022.
                                                       2