Opinion
11-22-00152-CV
10-20-2022
IN THE INTEREST OF J.L.K., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 29th District Court Palo Pinto County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. C48808
Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J., Trotter, J., and Williams, J.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM
This is an appeal from a final order in which the trial court terminated the parental rights of J.L.K.'s father. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 161.001 (We s t 2 0 22). The father filed a notice of appeal. We affirm.
Appellant's court-appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw and a supporting brief in which he professionally and conscientiously examines the record and applicable law and concludes that the appeal presents no arguable issues of merit and is therefore frivolous. The brief meets the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), by presenting a professional evaluation of the record and demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds to be advanced. See In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 406-08 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978). In light of a holding by the Texas Supreme Court, however, an Anders motion to withdraw "may be premature" if filed in the court of appeals under the circumstances presented in this case. See In r e P.M ., 520 S.W.3d 24, 27 (Te x . 2016). The court in P.M . stated that "appointed counsel's obligations can be satisfied by filing a petition for review that satisfies the standards for an Anders brief." Id. at 27-28.
Appellant's counsel provided Appellant with a copy of the brief and the motion to withdraw. In compliance with Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 318-20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014), counsel also provided Appellant with a copy of the appellate record. Counsel informed Appellant of his right to review the record and file a pro se response to counsel's brief. We conclude that Appellant's counsel has satisfied his duties under Anders, Schulman, and Kelly.
We note that Appellant has not filed a pro se response to counsel's Anders brief. Following the procedures outlined in Anders and Schulman, we have independently reviewed the record in this cause, and we agree that the appeal is frivolous. However, in light of P.M ., we must deny the motion to withdraw that was filed by Appellant's court-appointed counsel. See P.M., 520 S.W.3d at 27.
Accordingly, we deny counsel's motion to withdraw, and we affirm the trial court's order of termination.