The opinion
Opinion issued July 24, 2014
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-14-00365-CR
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JAMES BISHOP, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 179th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 1402762
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON PERMANENT ABATEMENT
A jury convicted appellant, James Bishop, of murder and assessed
punishment at life imprisonment. Bishop timely filed a notice of appeal.
On June 10, 2014, the trial court clerk filed the clerk’s record, containing a
“Proof of Death Letter” stating: “On April 20, 2014 James Earl Bishop died at St.
Joseph Medical Center.”
The death of an appellant during the pendency of an appeal deprives this
Court of jurisdiction. See Graham v. State, 991 S.W.2d 802, 802 (Tex. Crim. App.
1998); Garcia v. State, 840 S.W.2d 957, 958 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992). When an
appellant dies after perfecting an appeal but before this Court issues the mandate,
“the appropriate disposition is the abatement of the appeal.” Garcia, 840 S.W.2d
at 958; see TEX. R. APP. P. 7.1(a)(2) (“If the appellant in a criminal case dies after
an appeal is perfected but before the appellate court issues the mandate, the appeal
will be permanently abated.”).
Accordingly, this appeal is permanently abated.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Higley and Brown.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
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