Opinion
No. 04-16-00779-CR
09-11-2017
Anthony Newton HARRIS, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee
From the 227th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2013CR9455
Honorable Kevin M. O'Connell, Judge Presiding
ORDER
On August 30, 2017, appellant's appointed counsel, Karen Dalglish Seal, filed in this court what is purported to be appellant's brief. In this "brief," however, Ms. Seal does not raise any issues challenging the conviction. In the document filed on August 30, 2017, Ms. Seal advises that she cannot adequately represent appellant on appeal due to possible conflicts with regard to a potential ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Upon review, we find the document filed by appointed counsel is not an appellate brief; rather, the document is a motion to withdraw as appellate counsel and we will consider it accordingly.
Early on in this matter, Ms. Seal informed this court that she was appointed as trial counsel for appellant, not appellate counsel following his conviction. However, our review of the clerk's record established she was, in fact, appointed as appellate counsel. We advised Ms. Seal that if she intended to withdraw, she should take steps in the trial court to do so. Thereafter, Ms. Seal filed extensions of time to file the brief and advised this court that she intended to file a motion to withdraw in the trial court. However, this court never received any documentation or supplement to the clerk's record showing the filing of a motion to withdraw or a ruling on same. Thus, it is unclear whether counsel ever filed a motion to withdraw in the trial court.
In addition to the motion to withdraw filed by Ms. Seal, the State filed a motion to abate the appeal and remand the matter to the trial court for appointment of new appellate counsel. Accordingly, after reviewing the documents filed by Ms. Seal and the State, we GRANT the motion to withdraw filed by Ms. Seal. We further GRANT the State's motion to abate and remand. We ORDER this matter ABATED and REMANDED to the trial court, and we ORDER the trial court to appoint new appellate counsel for appellant within thirty days of the date of this order. See Duncan v. State, 653 S.W.2d 38, 40 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983) (holding that appellate courts may abate appeals so that trial court can assure appellant has effective assistance of counsel).
We further ORDER the district clerk to file a supplemental clerk's record containing the trial court's order appointing new appellate counsel no later than fifteen days after the date of the trial court signs the order appointing new appellate counsel. After the supplemental clerk's record is filed, the appeal will be reinstated on the docket of this court.
All appellate deadlines are SUSPENDED pending further orders from this court.
/s/_________
Marialyn Barnard, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 11th day of September, 2017.
/s/_________
KEITH E. HOTTLE,
Clerk of Court