Opinion
05-22-01176-CR
04-28-2023
EMANUEL GARCIA, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 265th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. F21-76280-R
ORDER
ERIN A. NOWELL JUSTICE
The reporter's record filed April 11, 2023, is incomplete. The filed reporter's record includes the transcription of the courtroom proceedings and the documentary evidence, including photographs, but the record does not include electronic exhibits that were admitted into evidence. The reporter's record shows the trial court admitted State's exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20, which were described as "DVD"s in the reporter's record's exhibit index. The record shows these were video exhibits, some of which were played for the jury in open court. Court reporter Yolanda Atkins has not filed these exhibits electronically.
It is the court reporter's duty to file the reporter's record, including all exhibits, in an electronic format through the Texas Appeals Management and Efiling System records submission portal (TAMES). See TEX. R. APP. P. APP. C, R. 2; UNIF. FORMAT MANUAL FOR TEX. REPORTER'S RECS. § 8 (AMENDED JUNE 28, 2010), https://www.txcourts.gov/media/244178/Uniform-Format-Manual-20100701.pdf. Audio and video files may be submitted in MP3 or MP4 formats. Off. of Ct. Admin. TAMES RSP User Guide 7 (2013), https://rsp.txcourts.gov/training/TAMES-RSP-User-Guide.pdf. When an exhibit exceeds the maximum file size to pass through the TAMES portal, the court reporter must separate the exhibit file into multiple smaller files that meet the TAMES portal's limits. See Uniform Format Manual at §§ 8.9, 8.10; Off. of Ct. Admin. TAMES RSP User Guide 8 (2013), https://rsp.txcourts.gov/training/TAMES-RSP-User-Guide.pdf. Physical media cannot be sent to the appellate court unless the appellate court orders the physical item filed. See Uniform Format Manual at §§ 8.9. 8.10.
This Court has not ordered the physical discs containing the recordings to be filed. Therefore, it is Ms. Atkins's duty, as the court reporter, to file the electronic media exhibits through the TAMES portal. Until the recordings in State's exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20 are filed through the TAMES portal, the complete reporter's record will not have been filed.
We ORDER Yolanda Atkins, Court Reporter, to electronically file into TAMES on or before MAY 12, 2023, State's exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20. If Ms. Atkins cannot electronically file into TAMES one or more of the exhibits, then she shall file a written statement explaining the steps taken to file the exhibits that could not be filed into TAMES and an explanation of why the exhibits cannot be filed into TAMES. If the exhibits are not filed into TAMES within that time, the Court will utilize whatever remedies it has available, which may include abating the case for the trial court to determine why the exhibits cannot be filed or ordering that Ms. Atkins not sit as a court reporter until she files the complete reporter's record in this appeal.
We DIRECT the Clerk to send copies of this order to the Honorable Jennifer Bennett, Presiding Judge, 265th Judicial District Court; Yolanda Atkins, Court Reporter; and to counsel for all parties.