Gordon C. Bane v. State

Order entered August 2, 2018
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-17-00821-CR
GORDON C. BANE, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 297th District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1464818D
ORDER
Appellant’s notice of appeal was filed on June 15, 2017. Although originally filed in the
Second Court of Appeals, the appeal was transferred to this Court on July 14, 2017 by the Texas
Supreme Court pursuant to a docket equalization order. TEX. GOV. CODE ANN. § 73.001 (West
2013. On November 3, 2017, William Reagan Wynn notified the Court that he had been
retained to represent appellant. We granted prior counsel’s motion to withdraw and recognized
Mr. Wynn as appellant’s counsel.
Appellant’s brief was originally due February 21, 2018. The Court granted a motion to
extend time to file the brief, making the brief due February 28, 2018. On March 2, 2018, we
notified Mr. Wynn by postcard that appellant’s brief was overdue. We instructed him to file the
brief and a motion to extend time to file the same within ten days or we would abate the appeal
for a hearing. The brief was not filed, no motion was filed, and we received no communication
from Mr. Wynn. By order dated March 28, 2018, we abated the appeal for a hearing to
determine why no appellant’s brief had been filed.
On April 13, 2018, we received a supplemental reporter’s record of the abatement
hearing held that same day. In the hearing, the trial court found that appellant wanted to pursue
the appeal, that Mr. Wynn had not abandoned the appeal, and that Mr. Wynn needed additional
time to prepare the brief. Mr. Wynn told the trial court, “I know that I can file the brief within
30 days of today’s date.” We reinstated the appeal and ordered appellant’s brief due by June 22,
2018. To date, no brief has been filed. Mr. Wynn has not communicated with this Court.
We therefore ORDER retained counsel William Reagan Wynn to file appellant’s brief
BY 5:00 P.M. ON AUGUST 10, 2018. Mr. Wynn is cautioned that the Court will not entertain
any further motions from him for any extensions of time in this case. If Mr. Wynn does not file a
brief by 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2018, the Court will initiate contempt proceedings against him
for the failure and refusal to obey the Court’s order. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b)(4). The Court
may also take such other actions as may be appropriate, including filing a grievance against Mr.
William Reagan Wynn and referring this matter to the State Bar of Texas Commission for
Lawyer Discipline for further proceedings.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to William Reagan
Wynn by certified mail at his address as shown in our records. We also DIRECT the Clerk to
send a copy of this order to the Honorable David Hagerman, Presiding Judge, 297th Judicial
District Court; to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office; and to appellant Gordon Bane,
TDCJ #02145207, Fort Stockton Unit, 1536 IH-10 East, Fort Stockton, TX 79735.
/s/ CAROLYN WRIGHT
CHIEF JUSTICE