Opinion
No. 07-19-00131-CR
05-21-2020
KERRY LEE FUSON, APPELLANT v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 35th District Court Brown County, Texas
Trial Court No. CR25848 , Honorable Sam C. Moss, Presiding
Originally appealed to the Eleventh Court of Appeals, this case was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (West 2013).
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before PIRTLE and PARKER and DOSS, JJ.
Appellant Kerry Lee Fuson was convicted of evading arrest with a motor vehicle. His sentence of ten years' confinement was suspended, and he was placed on community supervision for a period of five years. This appeal followed.
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 38.04(a), (b)(2)(A) (West 2016).
Appellant's attorney has filed a motion to withdraw, supported by an Anders brief concluding that the appeal is without merit. We grant counsel's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967).
Counsel has certified that he has conducted a conscientious examination of the record and, in his opinion, the record reflects no reversible error upon which an appeal can be predicated. Id. at 744; In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 406 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). In compliance with High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 813 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978), counsel has discussed why, under the controlling authorities, there are no reversible errors in the trial court's judgment. In a letter to appellant, counsel notified him of his motion to withdraw; provided him with a copy of the motion and Anders brief; and informed him of his right to review the appellate record and to file a pro se response. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319-20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (specifying appointed counsel's obligations on the filing of a motion to withdraw supported by an Anders brief). By letter, this Court also advised appellant of his right to file a pro se response to counsel's Anders brief. Appellant has not filed a response. The State has not filed a brief.
By his Anders brief, counsel discusses areas in the record where reversible error may have occurred but concludes that the appeal is frivolous. We have independently examined the record to determine whether there are any non-frivolous issues that were preserved in the trial court which might support an appeal. Like counsel, we have found none. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80, 109 S. Ct. 346, 102 L. Ed. 2d 300 (1988); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 409; Gainous v. State, 436 S.W.2d 137, 138 (Tex. Crim. App. 1969). Following our careful review of the appellate record and counsel's brief, we conclude there are no plausible grounds for appellate review.
Therefore, we grant counsel's motion to withdraw. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Counsel shall, within five days after the opinion is handed down, send appellant a copy of the opinion and judgment, along with notification of appellant's right to file a pro se petition for discretionary review. See TEX. R. APP. P. 48.4. This duty is an informational one, not a representational one. It is ministerial in nature, does not involve legal advice, and exists after the court of appeals has granted counsel's motion to withdraw. In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 411 n.33.
Judy C. Parker
Justice Do not publish.