Oliver — affirmed the convictions but corrected the bill of costs to remove a $5 fee

Unreported / Non-Citable

Background

Eric D. Oliver pleaded guilty to evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, accompanied by a deadly-weapon allegation concerning the vehicle, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded not true to an allegation that two prior, sequential felony convictions subjected him to habitual-offender punishment.

The jury found the habitual-offender and deadly-weapon allegations true and assessed concurrent 38-year prison sentences on both counts. The evading-arrest judgment provided that $290 in court costs and a $5 reimbursement fee would run concurrently with Oliver’s sentence, but the bill of costs listed the $5 reimbursement as still owed. Oliver’s appointed appellate counsel filed an Anders brief and moved to withdraw, representing that the record disclosed no legitimate issue or reversible error. Oliver obtained the appellate record but did not file a pro se response.

The Court’s Holding

After independently reviewing the record as required in an Anders appeal, the Second Court of Appeals concluded that, apart from the bill-of-costs discrepancy, the appeal was wholly without merit and presented no arguable ground for relief.

The court modified the bill of costs to reflect a $0 reimbursement balance, consistent with the evading-arrest judgment. It otherwise affirmed the trial court’s judgments and granted appointed counsel’s motion to withdraw.

Key Takeaways

• An appellate court reviewing an Anders brief must independently examine the record for any arguable ground for appeal.
• Anders review includes careful examination of the trial court’s bill of costs for errors requiring correction.
• A bill of costs may be modified when it conflicts with the judgment, even though the convictions and sentences are affirmed.

Why It Matters

The decision underscores that an appeal may lack any arguable basis for reversal while still requiring correction of a financial record. Appointed counsel conducting Anders review must scrutinize costs and fees as rigorously as the conviction and sentence.