Opinion

Kenneth L. Brown v. State

Court
Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
Filed
Jul 12, 2016
Status
Published
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 2.5%

emphasizing that reviewing court—and not counsel—determines, after full examination of proceedings, whether appeal is wholly frivolous

How later courts described this case

  • emphasizing that reviewing court—and not counsel—determines, after full examination of proceedings, whether appeal is wholly frivolous
  • reviewing court must determine whether arguable grounds for review exist
  • reviewing court determines whether arguable grounds exist by reviewing entire record

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

Opinion issued July 12, 2016

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

————————————

NO. 01-15-00357-CR

———————————

KENNETH L. BROWN, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 177th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Case No. 1389982

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant, Kenneth L. Brown, was found guilty by a jury of the felony offense

of aggravated robbery. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.03(a)(2) (West 2011).

Appellant pleaded true to two enhancement paragraphs in the indictment resulting

in an increased punishment range of twenty-five to ninety-nine years’ imprisonment

upon conviction. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.42(d) (West Supp. 2015). The

jury assessed punishment at thirty-eight years’ imprisonment. Appellant timely filed

a notice of appeal.

Appellant’s appointed counsel on appeal has filed a motion to withdraw, along

with a brief stating that the record presents no reversible error and the appeal is

without merit and is frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct.

1396 (1967). Counsel’s brief meets the Anders requirements by presenting a

professional evaluation of the record and supplying us with references to the record

and legal authority. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744, 87 S. Ct. at 1400; see also High v.

State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978). Counsel indicates that he has

thoroughly reviewed the record and is unable to advance any grounds of error that

warrant reversal. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744, 87 S. Ct. at 1400; Mitchell v. State,

193 S.W.3d 153, 155 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no pet.).

We have independently reviewed the entire record in this appeal, and we

conclude that no reversible error exists in the record, there are no arguable grounds

for review, and the appeal is frivolous. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744, 87 S. Ct. at 1400

(emphasizing that reviewing court—and not counsel—determines, after full

examination of proceedings, whether appeal is wholly frivolous); Garner v. State,

300 S.W.3d 763, 767 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (reviewing court must determine

whether arguable grounds for review exist); Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–

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27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (same); Mitchell, 193 S.W.3d at 155 (reviewing court

determines whether arguable grounds exist by reviewing entire record). We note that

an appellant may challenge a holding that there are no arguable grounds for appeal

by filing a petition for discretionary review in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at 827 & n.6.

We affirm the judgment of the trial court and grant counsel’s motion to

withdraw. Appointed counsel still has a duty to inform appellant of the result of this

appeal and that he may, on his own, pursue discretionary review in the Texas Court

of Criminal Appeals. See Ex Parte Wilson, 956 S.W.2d 25, 27 (Tex. Crim. App.

1997). Attorney Bob Wicoff must immediately send appellant the required notice

and file a copy of the notice with the Clerk of this Court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5(c).

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Higley, Bland, and Massengale.

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

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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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