Opinion
01-21-00263-CV
07-20-2021
In the Interest of A.R., a Child
313th District Court of Harris County Trial court case number: 2020-27937
ORDER
GORDON GOODMAN, JUDGE
This is an appeal from the trial court's final decree of termination in a suit brought by the Department of Family and Protective Services to terminate the parent-child relationship. Appellant, J.C., is the father of the child at issue in the suit. Appellant's court-appointed counsel has moved to withdraw and filed an Anders brief, concluding that the appeal is without merit and there are no arguable grounds for reversal. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967).
Although counsel's Anders brief remains pending, we deny counsel's motion to withdraw because this is a parental termination case. See In re P.M., 520 S.W.3d 24, 27 (Tex. 2016) (holding that Anders brief in parental termination case is not alone "good cause" sufficient to justify counsel's withdrawal); In re A.M., 495 S.W.3d 573, 582-83 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, pet. denied). Counsel's duties to his client extends through the exhaustion or waiver of "all appeals." In re A.M., 495 S.W.3d at 583 (citing TEX. FAM. CODE § 107.016). If appellant chooses to pursue a petition for review to the Supreme Court of Texas, his "appointed counsel's obligations can be satisfied by filing a petition for review that satisfies the standards for an Anders brief." In re P.M., 520 S.W.3d at 27-28.
It is so ORDERED.