Thirty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred Dollars ($38,400.00) United States Currency v. State

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas December 3, 2018 No. 04-18-00258-CV THIRTY-EIGHT THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS ($38,400.00) UNITED STATES CURRENCY, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee From the 408th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2016CI00346 Honorable Antonia Arteaga, Judge Presiding ORDER Appellant’s brief was originally due July 18, 2018. Prior to that due date, we granted appellant’s request for a copy of the appellate record. Thereafter, on July 5, 2018, appellant filed his appellate brief; however, the brief did not comply with Rules 9.5 or 38.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Accordingly, we struck the brief and ordered appellant to file an amended brief on or before September 14, 2018. In that order, we also outlined which portions of the rules the brief violated and provided appellant a copy of Rules 9.5 and 38.1. Thereafter, in lieu of filing an amended brief, appellant filed a series of pro se motions, specifically a Motion for Discovery and Motion to Abate, each of which were denied. In our order dated October 4, 2018, we reminded appellant that his amended brief was past due and ordered his amended brief due on or before November 5, 2018. Neither the amended brief nor a motion for extension of time was filed. Rather, appellant filed a letter requesting a new trial. On November 9, 2018, we ordered appellant to file on or before November 19, 2018 his amended brief and a written response reasonably explaining his failure to timely file the amended brief. We cautioned appellant that if he failed to file a brief and written response by the date ordered, we would dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution. In response to our order, appellant filed a letter, stating he has been unable to complete his amended brief because he has been on lockdown at the prison unit he is at and therefore has not had access to the law library. In his letter, appellant also requests an additional sixty days to file his brief. After consideration, we GRANT IN PART appellant’s request for an extension of time and ORDER appellant to file his amended appellant’s brief on or before January 2, 2019. No further extensions of time will be granted absent extraordinary circumstances. We further caution appellant that if he fails to file a brief by the date ordered, we will dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(a). _________________________________ Marialyn Barnard, Justice IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 3rd day of December, 2018. ___________________________________ KEITH E. HOTTLE, Clerk of Court