Opinion
No. 04-13-00844-CR
07-15-2014
Mathew Ray GOMEZ, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
From the County Court At Law No 2, Guadalupe County, Texas
Trial Court No. CCL-12-1963
Honorable Frank Follis, Judge Presiding
ORDER
Appellant's court-appointed attorney has filed a brief and motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), in which she asserts there are no meritorious issues to raise on appeal. Counsel certifies she has served copies of the brief and motion on appellant, has informed appellant of his right to review the record and file his own brief, has explained to appellant the procedure for obtaining the record, and has provided appellant with a form for requesting the record. See Kelly v. State, No. PD-0702, 2014 WL 2865901, *3 (Tex. Crim. App. June 25, 2014); Nichols v. State, 954 S.W.2d 83 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1997, no writ); Bruns v. State, 924 S.W.2d 176, 177 n.1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1996, no writ).
If appellant desires to file a pro se brief, we order that he do so on or before August 29, 2014. If appellant files a timely pro se brief, the State may file a responsive brief no later than thirty days after appellant's pro se brief is filed in this court. Alternatively, if appellant does not file a timely pro se brief, the State may file a brief in response to counsel's brief no later than thirty days after the date the pro se brief is due.
We further order the motion to withdraw filed by appellant's counsel held in abeyance pending further order of the court. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80-82 (1988) (holding that motion to withdraw should not be ruled on before appellate court independently reviews record to determine whether counsel's evaluation that appeal is frivolous is sound); Schulman v. State, 252 S.W.3d 403, 410-11 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (same).
We further order the clerk of this court to serve a copy of this order on appellant, his counsel, the attorney for the State, and the clerk of the trial court.
__________
Marialyn Barnard, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 15th day of July, 2014.
__________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court