Strickland v. State

Full title: LARRY GENE STRICKLAND II, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

Court: Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi-Edinburg

Date published: Oct 7, 2022

No. 13-22-00193-CR (Tex. App. Oct. 7, 2022)

Opinion

13-22-00193-CR

10-07-2022

LARRY GENE STRICKLAND II, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

PER CURIAM

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

On appeal from the 355th District Court of Hood County, Texas.

Before Justices Longoria, Hinojosa, and Silva Order

ORDER OF ABATEMENT

PER CURIAM

Appellant Larry Gene Strickland II's appointed counsel, E. Mark Piland, has filed an unopposed motion to withdraw as counsel in this appeal.¹ According to the motion, a conflict of interest has developed in the case which prevents Piland from representing the appellant in this cause.

1 This case is before the Thirteenth Court of Appeals by transfer from the Second Court of Appeals pursuant to a docket equalization order issued by the Supreme Court of Texas. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 73.001.

The appointment of new counsel rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. See, e.g., Carroll v. State, 176 S.W.3d 249, 255 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, pet. ref'd). In those circumstances where the appointment of counsel may be necessary, an appellate court should abate the proceeding to the trial court for determination of this issue. Accordingly, we carry the motion to withdraw with the case, abate the appeal, and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this order.

Upon remand, the trial court shall determine whether appellant's counsel should be allowed to withdraw, and if so, whether appellant is entitled to new court-appointed counsel. If the trial court determines that new counsel should be appointed, the name, address, email address, telephone number, and state bar number of newly appointed counsel shall be included in the order appointing counsel. If the trial court determines appellant has abandoned this appeal and/or is not entitled to court-appointment counsel, it shall issue such findings. The trial court shall further cause its findings and orders to be included in a supplemental clerk's record to be filed with the Clerk of the Court on or before the expiration of thirty days from the date of this order.