in the Interest of J. M. S. and J. A. S., Children ( 2005 )

In The

Court of Appeals

Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

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No. 06-05-00139-CV

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IN THE INTEREST OF J.M.S. AND J.A.S., CHILDREN

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On Appeal from the 336th Judicial District Court

Fannin County, Texas

Trial Court No. 36217

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Before Morriss, C.J., Ross and Carter, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Carter

MEMORANDUM OPINION

            Rebecca Houck has filed an appeal from the termination of her parental rights to J.M.S. and J.A.S. We have now reviewed the clerk's record. Section 263.405(b) of the Texas Family Code requires an appellant to file, not later than the fifteenth day after a final order is signed, a statement "of the point or points on which the party intends to appeal." Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(b) (Vernon Supp. 2005). The Legislature added a new subsection, effective for appeals filed after September 1, 2005, which provides that the "appellate court may not consider any issue that was not specifically presented to the trial court in a timely filed statement of the points on which the party intends to appeal . . . ." Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(i) (Vernon Supp. 2005). Here, the judgment was entered October 18, 2005, and the notice of appeal was filed October 25, 2005.

            The clerk's record contains no statement of points to be raised on appeal. We have contacted the district clerk's office, and no such statement, either standing alone or with a motion for new trial, exists. The statute does not terminate our jurisdiction over the appeal. However, in a situation such as this, where no statement of points exists, under the express terms of the statute, there is no contention of error that can be raised that we may consider on appeal.

            We affirm the judgment.

                                                                        Jack Carter

                                                                        Justice

Date Submitted:          December 19, 2005

Date Decided:             December 20, 2005

YLE="font-family: Times New Roman" STYLE="font-size: 10pt"> (a) In General. As a prerequisite to presenting a complaint for appellate review, the record must show that

(1) the complaint was made to the trial court by a timely request, objection, or motion that:

(A) stated the grounds for the ruling that the complaining party sought from the trial court with sufficient specificity to make the trial court aware of the complaint, unless the specific grounds were apparent from the context; and

(B) complied with the requirements of the Texas Rules of Civil or Criminal Evidence or the Texas Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure; and

(2) the trial court:

(A) ruled on the request, objection, or motion, either expressly or implicitly; or

(B) refused to rule on the request, objection, or motion, and the complaining party objected to the refusal.

Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a).

We note further that consideration of LeBlanc's arguments would not be possible on the record before the court. All of his points of error are predicated on evidence extrinsic to the record of the proceedings below and are therefore not fully cognizable on this direct appeal. For this reason, we decline to comment on the merits of his arguments. Rather, we simply note that on the record before the court, LeBlanc has failed to meet his burden of showing error in the proceedings below.

LeBlanc's points of error are overruled. The judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.

Ben Z. Grant

Justice

Date Submitted: October 11, 2001

Date Decided: February 6, 2002

Do Not Publish

1. According to the testimony, Beaumont Police Department procedure in use at the time involved giving a oral warning to the trespasser, providing a written copy to the property owner, and retaining a copy in the police files.