Opinion
05-23-00460-CV
02-16-2024
IN THE INTEREST OF Z.D.R.R. AND Z.U.C., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the County Court Kaufman County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 110045-CC
Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Molberg, and Justice Goldstein
MEMORANDUM OPINION
ROBERT D. BURNS, III CHIEF JUSTICE
Mother brought this accelerated appeal from the trial court's modification order in a suit filed by the Department of Family Services (DFPS) for conservatorship and for termination of Mother's parental rights. Following a trial, the jury determined that each of the children's fathers should be their respective child's sole managing conservator, and the trial court signed an order limiting Mother's periods of possession. Mother's court-appointed counsel filed a notice of appeal on Mother's behalf and has since filed a motion to withdraw along with a brief supporting that motion, stating that in her professional opinion the appeal is without merit and that there are no arguable grounds for reversal. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967).
Anders procedures are appropriate in an appeal from a trial court's final order in a suit brought by DFPS for the protection of a child, for conservatorship, or for parental-rights termination, including those in which the parent's rights are not ultimately terminated or DFPS does not become the child's conservator. See In the Interest of J.C., No. 05-22-00043-CV, 2022 WL 2582546, at *2 (Tex. App-Dallas July 8, 2022, no pet.) (Anders procedures apply in termination or parental rights cases, including those in which termination is sought but not granted); In the Interest of E.L.W., 01-17-00546-CV, 2017 WL 5712545, at * 1 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 28, 2017, no pet.) (same). An attorney has an ethical obligation to refuse to prosecute a frivolous appeal. In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 407 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). If an appointed attorney finds a case to be wholly frivolous, his obligation to his client is to seek leave to withdraw. Id. Counsel's obligation to the appellate court is to assure it, through an Anders brief, that, after a complete review of the record, the request to withdraw is well-founded. Id.
Here, Mother's counsel provided Mother with a copy of the Anders brief and advised Mother of her right to examine the record and file her own response. This Court separately provided Mother with a copy of the brief and notified her of her right to examine the record and file a response. Mother has not responded.
In her brief, Mother's counsel demonstrated that she reviewed the record and concluded the appeal was without merit and frivolous. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. She states that in her professional opinion no arguable grounds for reversal exist and that any appeal would therefore lack merit. See id. Counsel's brief meets the minimum Anders requirements by presenting a professional evaluation of the record and stating why there are no arguable grounds for reversal on appeal. See id.; Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 409 n.23. We have independently reviewed the record and counsel's brief and we agree the appeal is frivolous and without merit.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's modification order.
JUDGMENT
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, the trial court's modification order is AFFIRMED.
Judgment entered February 16, 2024