Robert Threadgill, Appellant v. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Appellee (2012)

M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N

On March 23, 2012, after the deadline for filing appellant's brief had passed, we issued an order requiring attorney Sarah Diafi to file the brief.   Diafi contacted the Court to explain that she was appellant's trial counsel but not his appellate counsel.   The clerk's record reflected that the termination decree specified that Diafi would continue to act as appellant's counsel, but a later order on appellant's affidavit of indigence stated that appellant was entitled to appointed counsel on appeal and that “[c]ounsel shall be appointed from the list of eligible appellate attorneys in Travis County.”   Appellate counsel was never appointed, however.

We therefore rescind our March 23 order, order Diafi removed as counsel, and abate the cause to the trial court for appointment of appellate counsel.   The trial court must appoint appellate counsel within five business days of the date of this order, and counsel should file appellant's brief within twenty days of his or her appointment.   See Tex.R.App. P. 38.6(a);  see also Tex.R.App. P. 28.4 (effective March 1, 2012, adopted by Tex. Sup.Ct. Misc. Docket No. 12–9030) (governing accelerated appeals in parental-termination cases);  Tex.R. Jud. Admin. 6.2 (effective May 1, 2012, adopted by Tex. Sup.Ct. Misc. Docket No. 11–9251) (time standards for parental-termination cases).

Abated

David Puryear, Justice