Opinion
No. 06-17-00080-CR
10-03-2017
RITA ANN BARR-KING, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Criminal Court No. 5 Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 1467149 Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Rita Ann Barr-King was convicted by a jury of assault, a class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 120 days' in jail.
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.01(a)(1) (West Supp. 2016).
The sentence was suspended in favor of a fifteen-month period of community supervision.
Barr-King's appellate attorney filed a brief setting out the procedural history of the case, summarizing the evidence elicited during the course of the trial court proceedings, and stating that counsel found no meritorious issues to raise on appeal. Meeting the requirements of Anders v. California, counsel has provided a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no plausible appellate issues to be advanced. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 743-44 (1967); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 406 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (orig. proceeding); Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 509-10 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812-13 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978). Counsel also filed a motion with this Court seeking to withdraw as counsel in this appeal.
Originally appealed to the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, this case was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to Section 73.001 of the Texas Government Code. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (West 2013). We are unaware of any conflict between precedent of the Second Court of Appeals and that of this Court on any relevant issue. See TEX. R. APP. P. 41.3.
Counsel provided Barr-King with copies of the brief, the appellate record, and the motion to withdraw. Counsel also informed Barr-King of her right to review the appellate record and to file a pro se response to counsel's brief, should she so desire. Barr-King was advised that her pro se response, if any, was due on or before August 21, 2017. Barr-King has not filed a pro se response and has not requested an extension of time in which to file such a response.
However, in Anders cases, appellate courts "have the authority to reform judgments and affirm as modified in cases where there is non reversible error." Ferguson v. State, 435 S.W.3d 291, 293 (Tex. App.—Waco 2014, pet. struck) (comprehensively discussing appellate cases that have modified judgments in Anders cases). Here, the judgment of conviction identifies the defendant as "Rita Ann Barrking." The indictment, however, identifies the defendant as "Rita Ann Barr-King." Moreover, appellant signed her surname in court documents as "Barr-King." We, therefore, modify the judgment to identify the defendant as "Rita Ann Barr-King."
We have independently reviewed the entire appellate record and, like counsel, have determined that no reversible error exists. Accordingly, we modify the trial court's judgment to identify the defendant as "Rita Ann Barr-King."
As modified, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Since we agree that this case presents no reversible error, we also, in accordance with Anders, grant counsel's request to withdraw from further representation of Appellant in this case. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. No substitute counsel will be appointed. Should Appellant desire to seek further review of this case by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, she must either retain an attorney to file a petition for discretionary review or file a pro se petition for discretionary review. Any petition for discretionary review (1) must be filed within thirty days from either the date of this opinion or the date on which the last timely motion for rehearing was overruled by this Court, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2, (2) must be filed with the clerk of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.3, and (3) should comply with the requirements of Rule 68.4 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, see TEX. R. APP. P. 68.4.
Josh R. Morriss, III
Chief Justice Date Submitted: September 27, 2017
Date Decided: October 3, 2017 Do Not Publish