In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
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No. 02-21-00061-CV
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IN RE ANDREA L. REED, CSR
From Criminal District Court No. 1
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 1503620D
Before Sudderth, C.J.; Kerr and Birdwell, JJ.
Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion
MEMORANDUM OPINION
The court instituted this proceeding involving Andrea L. Reed, CSR, to ensure
the filing of a complete reporter’s record in the underlying appeal: Ex parte Cedric
Richardson, Cause No. 02-19-00478-CR. The reporter’s record—including exhibits to
the reporter’s record—must be filed electronically via the TAMES records submission
portal (RSP) as mandated by appendix C to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure
and by the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters’ Records. The responsibility
for preparing and filing this reporter’s record lies with the court reporter. See Tex. R.
App. P. 35.3(b).
In Ex Parte Cedric Richardson, Andrea L. Reed, the official court reporter for
Criminal District Court No. 1, filed the reporter’s record—minus several exhibits—on
February 19, 2020. Reed certified to this court that she was unable to convert the
missing exhibits “into a format and/or size compatible with the requirements of the
TAMES portal, the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters’ Records, and
Appendix C of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.” Because this certification did not
detail any diligent attempts made by the court reporter to file the exhibits to the
reporter’s record in electronic format, we requested Reed to file an amended court
reporter’s certification.1 Reed filed an amended certification on March 11, 2020, in
1
See Guidelines for Reporter’s Records – Exhibits, Texas Judicial Branch: 2nd Court
of Appeals 2 (Apr. 10, 2019), http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1443938/2019-courts-
guidelines-for-reporters-records-exhibits-updated-2019.pdf (requiring the court
reporter to file a signed statement 1) certifying that the court reporter is unable to file
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which she again certified that she was unable to upload the exhibits to the TAMES
RSP.
After the appeal had been submitted to the court for decision, we ordered the
trial court clerk to deliver the original exhibits to the court. The court reviewed the
exhibits and determined that all but one of them could be uploaded via the TAMES
RSP. Accordingly, we returned the exhibits that could be uploaded electronically to
the trial court clerk and ordered Reed to upload them to the TAMES RSP in
compliance with the applicable rules.
Reed subsequently uploaded all these exhibits but one: State’s Exhibit 187, a
police interrogation video. On February 2, 2021, Reed certified that she still had been
unable to convert State’s Exhibit 187, stating, “Diligent attempts have been made to
convert this exhibit, and it just cannot be done on my end. The original is on file with
the Tarrant County Clerk’s Office.” After receiving this certification, the court again
reviewed the original State’s Exhibit 187 and again confirmed that it could be
uploaded via the TAMES RSP.
Therefore, on February 26, 2021, we ordered Reed to upload State’s Exhibit
187 in an electronic format to the TAMES RSP in compliance with the applicable
rules by March 5, 2021. We warned Reed that if the exhibit was not filed by the
deadline, she would be required to show cause why she should not be held in
the exhibit electronically, 2) explaining why the court reporter cannot file the exhibit
electronically, and 3) detailing the diligent attempts that the court reporter has made
to file the exhibit electronically).
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contempt of court for failing to file the complete, compliant reporter’s record in a
timely manner. Despite this warning, Reed failed to file the exhibit by the deadline.
Because Reed did not comply with the court’s order, we issued another order
on March 11, 2021, that severed the portion of the appeal involving the preparation
and filing of the reporter’s record from Ex parte Cedric Richardson and docketed it as
this proceeding, In re Andrea L. Reed, CSR. But finally, on March 22, 2021, Reed
completed the reporter’s record by uploading the last outstanding exhibit that could
be filed electronically, State’s Exhibit 187, to the TAMES web portal.
Now that the complete reporter’s record has been electronically filed, we
conclude that the reporter’s record issue has been sufficiently resolved and that the
purposes of this proceeding, In re Andrea L. Reed, CSR, No. 02-21-00061-CV, have
been accomplished. Nevertheless, in the future, the court expects Reed to
demonstrate good-faith efforts to fulfill her responsibility of filing the reporter’s
record electronically via the TAMES web portal as required—including acquiring
sufficient equipment, software, and knowledge to file the complete reporter’s record
in a timely manner and in compliance with the applicable rules. Accordingly, this
cause is dismissed.
Per Curiam
Delivered: April 8, 2021
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