Lanehart v. State

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On February 19, 1999, appellant pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance, namely cocaine. The trial court deferred a finding of guilty and placed appellant on community supervision for four years. On November 11, 1999, the State filed a motion to adjudicate alleging appellant violated the terms and conditions of his community supervision. Appellant stipulated to the evidence in support of the State’s motion and pled true to the allegations. On May 8, 2001, the trial court granted the State’s motion, found appellant guilty, and sentenced him to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice– Institutional Division. Appellant filed a pro se notice of appeal on May 15, 2001. On October 3, 2001, the clerk’s record was filed; no reporter’s record was taken. The district clerk forwarded the record to appellant, who is pro se, and he received the record on October 9, 2001. Accordingly, appellant’s brief was due November 8, 2001. On December 10, 2001, appellant filed a motion to extend time to file the brief, which was granted on December 13, 2001. Based on the ruling on the extension, appellant’s brief was due January 9, 2002; however, no brief was filed. On January 15, 2002, appellant and the trial court were notified that no brief had been received. No satisfactory response from appellant was received in response to the notice. Thus, on February 7, 2002, this Court issued an abatement order requiring the 174th District Court to: