Opinion
No. 04-13-00499-CV
2013-10-03
IN THE INTEREST OF A.N.A., A CHILD
From the 150th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2012-PA-01683
Honorable Charles E. Montemayor, Judge Presiding
ORDER
This is an appeal from a judgment terminating appellant mother's parental rights. Appellant's court-appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief and motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), in which he asserts there are no meritorious issues to raise on appeal. See In re RR, No. 04-03-00096-CV, 2003 WL 21157944 (Tex. App.—San Antonio May 21, 2003, order) (holding that Anders procedures apply to appeals from orders terminating parental rights), disp. on merits, 2003 WL 22080522 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Sept. 10, 2003, no pet.) (mem. op.). Counsel states he has informed appellant of her right to review the record and file her own brief. See id.; Nichols v. State, 954 S.W.2d 83, 85-86 (Tex. App.—San Antonio July 23, 1997, no pet.); Bruns v. State, 924 S.W.2d 176, 177 n.1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1996, no pet.).
Based on the foregoing, we issued an order on August 28, 2013, with regard to appellant's right to file a pro se brief and the deadline for same. However, the order was returned to the court with the notation "returned to sender, not deliverable as addressed." We have reviewed the record and determined that appellant's appointed counsel used an incorrect zip code when he sent a copy of the brief and the motion to withdraw to appellant. This court used the address provided by appellant's counsel. Upon contacting appointed counsel, we discovered the documents he sent to appellant were also returned, yet he failed to advise this court of that fact. We have advised appellant's appointed counsel of the error, and he has been instructed to send a copy of the brief, the motion to withdraw, and his explanatory letter to appellant using the correct zip code. We ORDER appellant's counsel to provide written proof to this court on or before October 14, 2013 that he has resent appellant a copy of the Anders brief, the motion to withdraw, and the letter explaining her right to file a brief and how to obtain a copy of the record, using the correct address. Counsel is advised that if the brief and other documents are again returned to him as undeliverable, he is to notify this court of that fact immediately.
Based on the foregoing, we withdraw our order of August 28, 2013, and issue this order in its place. If appellant desires to file a pro se brief, we order that she do so on or before November 4, 2013. If appellant files a timely pro se brief, appellee may file a responsive brief no later than twenty days after appellant's pro se brief is filed in this court. We further order the motion to withdraw filed by appellant's counsel held in abeyance pending further order of the court.
Appellant may obtain a copy of the appellate record from her appointed counsel or by filing a written request, not later than October 18, 2013, with the clerk of this court: Keith Hottle, 4th Court of Appeals, 300 Dolorosa, Suite 3200, San Antonio, Texas 78205.
We further order the clerk of this court to serve a copy of this order on appellant and all counsel.
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Marialyn Barnard, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 3rd day of October, 2013.
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Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court