Opinion
No. 08-20424 Conference Calendar.
June 16, 2009.
James Lee Turner, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Joe L. Hernandez, Hernandez Associates, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, USDC No. 4:07-CR-370-1.
Before SMITH, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
The attorney appointed to represent Javier Botello-Garcia has moved for leave to withdraw and has filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). Botello-Garcia has filed a response. Our independent review of the record, counsel's brief, and Botello-Garcia's response discloses no nonfrivolous issue for appeal. The record is insufficiently developed to allow consideration at this time of Botello-Garcia's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel; such claims generally "cannot be resolved on direct appeal when [they have] not been raised before the district court since no opportunity existed to develop the record on the merits of the allegations." United States v. Cantwett, 470 F.3d 1087, 1091 (5th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Accordingly, counsel's motion for leave to withdraw is GRANTED, counsel is excused from further responsibilities herein, and the APPEAL IS DISMISSED. See 5TH CIR. R. 42.2.