Opinion
No. 11-16-00002-CV
06-09-2016
IN THE INTEREST OF M.A.T., L.B.T., I.A.T., AND R.L.T., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the 318th District Court Midland County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. FM 57,494
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This is an appeal from an order in which the trial court terminated the parental rights of the mother of the four children involved in this case—M.A.T., L.B.T., I.A.T., and R.L.T. The mother filed a notice of appeal. We dismiss the appeal.
The mother's court-appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw and a supporting brief in which he professionally and conscientiously examines the record and applicable law and concludes that the appeal is frivolous. The brief meets the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds to be advanced. See In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 406-08 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978). In light of a recent holding by the Texas Supreme Court, however, an Anders motion to withdraw "may be premature" if filed in the court of appeals under the circumstances presented in this case. See In re P.M., No. 15-0171, 2016 WL 1274748, at *3 (Tex. Apr. 1, 2016). The court in P.M. stated that "appointed counsel's obligations can be satisfied by filing a petition for review that satisfies the standards for an Anders brief." Id.
Appellant's counsel provided Appellant with a copy of the brief and the motion to withdraw and informed Appellant of her right to review the record and file a pro se response to counsel's brief. In compliance with Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 318-20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014), counsel provided Appellant with a form motion to file in this court to obtain access to the reporter's record and the clerk's record. We conclude that Appellant's counsel has satisfied his duties under Anders, Schulman, and Kelly. We note that Appellant filed in this court the pro se motion for access to the appellate record and that the clerk of this court sent the record to Appellant. Appellant did not file a pro se response to counsel's Anders brief.
Following the procedures outlined in Anders and Schulman, we have independently reviewed the record, and we agree that the appeal is without merit and should be dismissed. See Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 409. However, in light of P.M., we deny the motion to withdraw that was filed by Appellant's court-appointed counsel. See P.M., 2016 WL 1274748, at *3.
Counsel's motion to withdraw is denied, and the appeal is dismissed.
PER CURIAM June 9, 2016 Panel consists of: Wright, C.J.,
Willson, J., and Bailey, J.