Opinion

Rainbow Cannell AKA Rainbow Conti v. State

Court
Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
Filed
May 1, 2014
Status
Published
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 41.9%

holding that appointed counsel has no duty to file petition for discretion review on behalf of appellant

How later courts described this case

  • holding that appointed counsel has no duty to file petition for discretion review on behalf of appellant

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE

FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

ORDER

Appellate case name: Rainbow Cannell aka Rainbow Conti v. The State of Texas

Appellate case number: 01-12-00334-CR

Trial court case number: 287854

Trial court: County Court at Law No 1 of Galveston County

Appellant’s counsel has filed a “Motion for Leave to Withdraw.” Because our opinion is

this appeal has issued, and appellant’s “appeals are exhausted,” counsel has fulfilled his duty to

represent appellant, and we dismiss the motion as moot.

We issued our opinion in this appeal on December 19, 2013, and denied appellant’s

motion for rehearing on March 10, 2014.

Once our opinion issues, appointed counsel has the duty to inform appellant “of the result

of the direct appeal and the availability of discretionary review.” Ex parte Wilson, 956 S.W.2d

25, 27 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). “But, because there is no right to counsel on discretionary

review, the duty of counsel ends there.” Id.; see TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. arts. 1.051(d)(2),

26.04(j)(2) (West Supp. 2013) (providing right to appointed counsel for eligible indigent

defendant in Court of Criminal Appeals if appeal is directly from trial court or petition for

discretionary review has been granted; requiring appointed counsel to represent defendant until

“appeals are exhausted”); Ayala v. State, 633 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982) (holding

that appointed counsel has no duty to file petition for discretion review on behalf of appellant).

Therefore, although counsel may have a duty to inform appellant, if he has not already done so,

of our decision and that appellant has the right to file a petition for discretionary review, counsel

has fulfilled his duty to represent appellant in court proceedings.

Accordingly, counsel’s motion is DISMISSED as moot.

Judge’s signature: /s/ Harvey Brown

 Acting individually  Acting for the Court

Date: May 1, 2014

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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