Tawil v. State

Full title: HUSSEIN ALI TAWIL, APPELLANT v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, STATE

Court: Court of Appeals of Texas, Second District, Fort Worth

Date published: Mar 12, 2009

No. 2-08-322-CR (Tex. App. Mar. 12, 2009)

Opinion

No. 2-08-322-CR

Delivered: March 12, 2009. DO NOT PUBLISH. Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)

Appealed from the 43rd District Court of Parker County.

PANEL: DAUPHINOT, GARDNER, and WALKER, JJ.

MEMORANDUM OPINION ¹

1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Hussein Ali Tawil entered an open plea of guilty to felony driving while intoxicated (DWI), signing a judicial confession. The trial court found him guilty and after a hearing, sentenced him to five years' confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Appellant's court-appointed appellate counsel has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and a brief in support of that motion. In the brief, counsel avers that, in his professional opinion, this appeal is frivolous. Counsel's brief and motion meet the requirements of Anders v. California ² by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds for relief. Although Appellant was given an opportunity to file a brief, he has not done so. After an appellant's court-appointed counsel files a motion to withdraw on the ground that the appeal is frivolous and fulfills the requirements of Anders, this court is obligated to undertake an independent examination of the record.³ Only then may we grant counsel's motion to withdraw.⁴ Because Appellant entered an open plea of guilty, our independent review for potential error is limited to potential jurisdictional defects, the voluntariness of his plea, error that is not independent of and supports the judgment of guilt, and error occurring after entry of the guilty plea.⁵ We have carefully reviewed counsel's brief and the record. We agree with counsel that this appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit; we find nothing in the record that arguably might support the appeal.⁶ Accordingly, we grant counsel's motion to withdraw and affirm the trial court's judgment.

2 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967).

3 See Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991); Mays v. State, 904 S.W.2d 920, 922-23 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1995, no pet.).

4 See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82-83, 109 S. Ct. 346, 351-52 (1988).

5 See Monreal v. State, 99 S.W.3d 615, 620 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003).

6 See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827-28 (Tex.Crim.App. 2005).