ACCEPTED
01-15-00256-CV
FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
6/19/2015 3:02:22 PM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
No. 01-15-00256-CV
____________________________________
FILED IN
1st COURT OF APPEALS
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE HOUSTON, TEXAS
FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON
6/19/2015 3:02:22 PM
____________________________________CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Clerk
IN THE INTEREST OF M.B.M. and J.J.M., CHILDREN
_________________________________________________________
L.M., Appellant
v.
Texas Department of Family & Protective Services, Appellee
On appeal from the 313th Judicial District
of Harris County, Texas; No. 2014-00491J
MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME
TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS:
The Texas Department of Family & Protective Services (hereinafter
“Department”), Appellee, files this motion as follows:
1. Applicable Deadlines: The appeal in this case began with a notice of
appeal filed on March 13, 2015. The clerk’s record was filed on April 2, 2015, and
the reporter’s record was filed on April 23, 2015. The Appellant received
additional time to file his brief, and did so on June 2, 2015. With the filing of
Appellant’s Brief, Appellee’s brief became due twenty (20) days later, that is by
June 22, 2015, pursuant to Tex. R. App. P. 38.6 (b).
2. First Request for Extension of Time: This is the Department’s first
request for an extension of time in this case. The Department is asking for a
twenty (20) day extension up to and including July 13, 2014.
3. Legal Authority for Extension of Time: Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(d)
authorizes this court to extend the time for filing a brief if a motion is filed in
conformity with Tex. R. App. P. 10.5 before or after the brief is due.
4. Facts Necessitating Request: Counsel for Department in this case has
been involved in several other ongoing matters which necessitate this request.
Chief among these is an ongoing mandamus proceeding involving alleged medical
neglect of a child, which was filed on May 7, 2015 in the First Court of Appeals
under Cause Number 01-15-00430-CV. The Department was required to file its
response to the Petition for Writ of Mandamus, as well as to an Emergency Motion
for Stay Pending Review of Writ of Mandamus, on May 15, 2015. In addition, the
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Department was required to prepare for a hearing on May 19, 2015, it sought
emergency relief in the matter through a motion filed on May 22, 2015, was
involved in a hearing ordered by the First Court of Appeals on May 28, 2015, and
was ordered to respond by June 12, 2015 to another motion filed by the Relators in
that case. In addition, Counsel for the Department is involved in another appeal
under Cause No. 14-15-00256-CV in which the deadline for the Department’s
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Though all parties appeared for this hearing in the trial court, it was reset.
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response is June 24, 2015. The time it has taken to attend to these other matters
necessitates this request for more time to respond to the present appeal.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Department hereby
requests that this court grant an extension of the current deadline for filing of the
Department’s response by twenty (20) days up to and including July 13, 2015.
Respectfully submitted,
VINCE RYAN
HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY
By: /s/ Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
Assistant County Attorney
State Bar #24067652
1019 Congress, 17th Floor
Houston, Texas 77054
Phone: 713/274-5292; Fax: 713/437-4700
Email: robert.hazeltine-shedd@cao.hctx.net
Attorney for Appellee
Texas Department of Family & Protective Services
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CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
This is to certify that after attempts to do so, undersigned counsel was
unable to make contact with counsel for the appellant.
/s/ Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this the 19th day of June, 2015 a true and correct
copy of the foregoing motion was sent to all parties to this appeal by sending a
copy by electronic transmission to the Appellant care of her attorney of record,
Donald. M. Crane at donmcrane@gmail.com and to the attorney ad litem for the
children, John Millard at john@millard-law.com.
/s/ Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
Robert J. Hazeltine-Shedd
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