Opinion
NUMBER 13-16-00448-CR
04-20-2017
LUIS RENE RIVERA, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.
On appeal from the 36th District Court of San Patricio County, Texas.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Contreras, Benavides, and Longoria
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Benavides
The State charged appellant Luis Rene Rivera with burglary of a habitation, a second-degree felony. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. §30.02 (West, Westlaw through 2015 R.S.). On November 18, 2011, Rivera pleaded guilty as charged in the indictment. The trial court sentenced him to eight years deferred adjudication probation with a fine of $1,500.00, and placed Rivera on community supervision with various conditions.
During the course of his community supervision, the State filed two motions to adjudicate against Rivera. On June 27, 2014, Rivera pleaded true to the allegations in the first motion to adjudicate and was continued on probation. The State filed the second motion to adjudicate, which is the subject of this appeal, on March 29, 2016. In that motion, the State alleged Rivera violated several conditions of community supervision including that he: (1) knowingly possessed a firearm while on community supervision; (2) intentionally fled from a peace officer; (3) possessed a controlled substance in penalty group 1 in an amount less than one gram on three different occasions; and (4) consumed alcohol while on community supervision on four different occasions.
Rivera pleaded true to twelve of the violations and signed a stipulation to the evidence and a judicial confession on May 16, 2016. The trial court heard testimony from Officer Joe Anthony Gonzales, an Orange Grove police officer who arrested Rivera for additional offenses, as well as Raquel Zarate, Rivera's former probation officer. As a result, the trial court found all the grounds to be true, revoked Rivera's community supervision adjudicated him guilty, and sentenced him to twenty years' imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.
Rivera was granted the right to appeal because his sentence was not a plea bargain with the State. Rivera's court-appointed appellate counsel has filed an Anders brief. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). We affirm.
I. ANDERS BRIEF
Pursuant to Anders v. California, Rivera's court-appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief and a motion to withdraw with this Court, stating that her review of the record yielded no grounds of error upon which an appeal can be predicated. See id. Counsel's brief meets the requirements of Anders as it presents a professional evaluation demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds to advance on appeal. See In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 407 n.9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) ("In Texas, an Anders brief need not specifically advance 'arguable' points of error if counsel finds none, but it must provide record references to the facts and procedural history and set out pertinent legal authorities.") (citing Hawkins v. State, 112 S.W.3d 340, 343-44 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.)); Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 510 n.3 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).
In compliance with High v. State and Kelly v. State, Rivera's counsel carefully discussed why, under controlling authority, there is no reversible error in the trial court's judgment. See High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 813 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978); Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319-22 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014). Rivera's appellate counsel also notified this Court that she: (1) notified Rivera that she has filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw; (2) provided Rivera with copies of both pleadings; (3) informed Rivera of his rights to file a pro se response, review the record preparatory to filing that response, and seek discretionary review if we conclude that the appeal is frivolous; (4) provided Rivera with a copy of the appellate record; and (5) informed Rivera that the pro se response, if any, should identify for the Court those issues which he believes the Court should consider in deciding whether the case presents any meritorious issues. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744; Kelly, 436 S.W.3d at 319-20; Stafford, 813 S.W.2d at 510 n.3; see also In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 409 n.23. Rivera filed a pro se response to this Court that we have reviewed in considering this appeal.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that "the pro se response need not comply with the rules of appellate procedure in order to be considered. Rather the response should identify for the court those issues which the indigent appellant believes the court should consider in deciding whether to case presents any meritorious issues." In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 409 n.23 (quoting Wilson v. State, 955 S.W.2d 693, 696-97 (Tex. App.—Waco 1997, no pet.)).
II. INDEPENDENT REVIEW
Upon receiving an Anders brief, we must conduct a full examination of all the proceedings to determine whether the case is wholly frivolous. Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80 (1988). A court of appeals has two options when an Anders brief and a subsequent pro se response are filed. After reviewing the entire record, it may: (1) determine that the appeal is wholly frivolous and issue an opinion explaining that it finds no reversible error; or (2) determine that there are arguable grounds for appeal and remand the case to the trial court for appointment of new appellate counsel. Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). If the court finds arguable grounds for appeal, it may not review those grounds until after new counsel has briefed those issues on appeal. Id.
We have reviewed the entire record, counsel's brief, and Rivera's pro se response, and we have found nothing that would arguably support an appeal. See id. at 827-28 ("Due to the nature of Anders briefs, by indicating in the opinion that it considered the issues raised in the briefs and reviewed the record for reversible error but found none, the court of appeals met the requirement of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.1."); Stafford, 813 S.W.2d at 509. There is no reversible error in the record. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
III. MOTION TO WITHDRAW
In accordance with Anders, Rivera's attorney has asked this Court for permission to withdraw as counsel for appellant. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744; see also In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 408 n.17 (citing Jeffrey v. State, 903 S.W.2d 776, 779-80 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1995, no pet.) ("[I]f an attorney believes the appeal is frivolous, he must withdraw from representing the appellant. To withdraw from representation, the appointed attorney must file a motion to withdraw accompanied by a brief showing the appellate court that the appeal is frivolous.") (citations omitted)). We grant counsel's motion to withdraw. Within five days of this Court's opinion, counsel is ordered to send a copy of this opinion and this Court's judgment to Rivera and advise him of his right to file a petition for discretionary review. See TEX. R. APP. P. 48.4; see also In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 412 n.35; Ex Parte Owens, 206 S.W.3d 670, 673 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
No substitute counsel will be appointed. Should appellant wish to seek further review of this case by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, he 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 must be filed within thirty days from the date of either this opinion or the last timely motion for rehearing or timely motion for en banc reconsideration that was overruled by this Court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 68.2. Any petition for discretionary review must be filed with the clerk of the Court of Criminal Appeals, see id. 68.3, and should comply with the requirements of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 68.4. See id. 68.4.
IV. CONCLUSION
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
GINA M. BENAVIDES,
Justice Do not publish.
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2 (b). Delivered and filed the 20th day of April, 2017.