Stanley Leon Blackwell v. State

Motion Granted; Abatement Order filed August 13, 2020
In The
Fourteenth Court of Appeals
____________
NO. 14-20-00288-CR
____________
STANLEY LEON BLACKWELL, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 1
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1556832R
ABATEMENT ORDER
On July 21, 2020, counsel for appellant informed this court that appellant
died while incarcerated. At the time of that notice, counsel did not yet have a copy
of appellant’s death certificate.
The death of an appellant during the pendency of an appeal deprives the
court of jurisdiction. See Freeman v. State, 11 S.W.3d 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).
When an appellant dies after an appeal is perfected but before this court issues the
mandate, the appeal is to be permanently abated. See Tex. R. App. P. 7.1(a)(2); see
also Graham v. State, 991 S.W.2d 802, 802–03 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998).
Because we have not received a copy of appellant’s death certificate, we
decline to permanently abate this appeal. Instead, we temporarily abate this appeal
for sixty days or until counsel provides us with a copy of appellant’s death
certificate. When counsel provides a copy of the death certificate, we will
permanently abate this appeal. If the death certificate is not provided within sixty
days from the date of this order, the appeal will be reinstated.
PER CURIAM
Panel Consists of Justices Spain, Hassan, and Poissant.