IN THE INTEREST OF Z.M.R., A CHILD--Appeal from 267th District Court of Victoria County (Majority)

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State: Texas

Court: Texas Northern District Court

Docket No: 13-11-00592-CV

Case Date: 11/29/2012

Preview:NUMBER 13-11-00592-CV COURT OF APPEALS THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

IN THE INTEREST OF Z.M.R., A CHILD

On appeal from the 267th District Court of Victoria County, Texas.

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Benavides and Perkes Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Valdez
Proceeding pro se, appellant, David George Rodriguez, appeals the trial court's foreclosure of his inmate trust account for child support arrearages. By three issues, Rodriguez contends that the trial court abused its discretion by (1) denying his request for a bench warrant or in the alternative to appear at the foreclosure hearing via teleconference or by video, (2) applying section 154.062 of the family code retroactively, and (3) improperly defining "net resources" pursuant to current law. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND In 1995, the trial court ordered Rodriguez to pay $130 per month in child support. Subsequently, Rodriguez was convicted of capital murder and received two life sentences. Rodriguez did not pay child support as ordered. In 2011, the Office of the Attorney General (the "OAG") perfected a child support lien on Rodriguez's inmate trust account. Rodriguez moved to remove the lien, and the OAG moved to foreclose the trust account. Rodriguez requested a bench warrant, or in the alternative, an order allowing him to participate in the trial by teleconference or by video. The trial court denied the motion on July 22, 2011. However, in the order denying Rodriguez's motion, the trial court set out that it would allow Rodriguez to present evidence through deposition, affidavit, or other written discovery. On September 8, 2011, after a hearing, the trial court signed an order foreclosing child support lien, stating that there was an arrearage of $42,734.50 and rendered judgment in that amount. The trial court ordered the surrender of all of Rodriguez's assets in his inmate trust account to the OAG.1 This appeal ensued. II. REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS By his first issue, Rodriguez contends that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his request for a bench warrant and by denying his request to appear at trial via video or teleconference. A. Standard of Review and Applicable Law We review a trial court's decision on an inmate's request for a bench warrant for an abuse of discretion. In re Z.L.T., 124 S.W.3d 163, 165 (Tex. 2003). The test for
In his brief, Rodriguez claims that the OAG requested the release of $1973.78 from his inmate trust account.
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2

abuse of discretion is whether the trial court acted in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner or without reference to any guiding principles when it made the complained-of ruling. K-Mart Corp. v. Honeycutt, 24 S.W.3d 357, 360 (Tex. 2000) (per curiam);

Downer v. Aquamarine Operators, Inc., 701 S.W.2d 238, 241

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