Opinion
No. 06-05-00034-CR
August 5, 2005.
On Appeal from the 3rd Judicial District Court Anderson County, Texas, Trial Court No. 26427.
Before MORRISS, C.J., ROSS and CARTER, JJ.
ORDER
Eddie Cabello appeals from his conviction by a jury for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant. He was sentenced October 20, 2004, to seventy-five years' imprisonment. The record was due to be filed by February 17, 2005. The clerk's record was filed February 18, 2005. This cause was reported by three different court reporters. Two of those court reporters filed their portions of the record February 18 and March 21, consisting of the voir dire and the trial. Court reporter Nancy Currie has not yet filed her portion of the record.
We have received and granted three requests from Currie for additional time in which to prepare this record. On her third request, we granted until June 30, 2005, to file the record. It was not filed. On July 25, she sent this Court a request for a fourth thirty-day extension, until July 29, 2005. The record has not been filed, and Currie has not returned calls from our clerk's office.
This Court has joint responsibility, along with the trial court, to ensure that an appellate record is timely filed. Tex.R.App.P. 35.3(c). Currie has continued to assure this Court that the record will be here soon, but another thirty days has now elapsed, and the record has not been tendered. In accordance with Tex.R.App.P. 37.3(a)(2), because the record has not been timely filed, the matter has now been referred to the Court.
We order Nancy Currie, court reporter, to prepare and file the record in Eddie Cabello v. State of Texas, cause number 06-05-00034-CR. The record must be received by this Court on or before August 15, 2005.
As we have recently been directly reminded by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, we can and should exercise our contempt power to compel an errant court reporter to prepare and file the record. Johnson v. State, 151 S.W.3d 193 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004); Payne v. State, 802 S.W.2d 686 (Tex.Crim.App. 1990) (ordering the reporter incarcerated until the record was completed); see Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 21.002 (Vernon 2004). If the record is not filed in accordance with this order, Currie may be ordered to show cause why this Court should not hold her in contempt for failing to obey the orders of this Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.