In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
No. 06-15-00122-CR
DAVID SYLVESTER CHAMBERS, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 272nd District Court
Brazos County, Texas
Trial Court No. 13-02053-CRF-272
Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
ORDER
David Sylvester Chambers appeals from his conviction of theft of property. Chambers has
filed a motion to abate the appeal to the trial court for the entry of findings of fact and conclusions
of law related to the trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence filed below. Although
Chambers requested that the trial court enter findings of fact and conclusions of law, no such
findings and conclusions were entered by the trial court.
In State v. Cullen, 195 S.W.3d 696 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006), the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals stated,
Effective from the date of this opinion, the requirement is: upon the request of the
losing party on a motion to suppress evidence, the trial court shall state its essential
findings. By “essential findings,” we mean that the trial court must make findings
of fact and conclusions of law adequate to provide an appellate court with a basis
upon which to review the trial court’s application of the law to the facts.
Id. at 699.
Because the requirements of Cullen were not met in this case, we abate the appeal and
remand it to the trial court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 44.4. The trial court is instructed to enter on the
record findings of fact and conclusions of law adequate to provide this Court with a basis on which
to review its application of the law to the facts of this case. Specifically, the trial court’s findings
and conclusions should relate to its ruling on Chambers’ motion to suppress evidence obtained
incident to, pursuant to, and as a result of Chambers’ arrest.
If the trial court’s findings and conclusions are entered on the record in written form, then
they shall be filed with this Court in the form of a supplemental clerk’s record within twenty-one
days of the date of this order. If the trial court’s findings and conclusions are entered on the record
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in oral form, then they shall be filed with this Court in the form of a supplemental reporter’s record
within twenty-one days of the date of this order.
In conjunction with his motion to abate, Chambers has requested an extension of time in
which to file his brief. That request is overruled as premature. All appellate timetables are hereby
stayed. The abatement will terminate and this Court’s jurisdiction will resume on the filing of
either the supplemental clerk’s or supplemental reporter’s record.
On reinstatement of the case on this Court’s docket, we will establish a new briefing
schedule, giving the parties an opportunity to consider and address the trial court’s findings and
conclusions in their briefing.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
BY THE COURT
Date: September 17, 2015
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