Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Livan Rios for the third-degree felony offense of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle. Following a jury trial, the jury found him guilty.
After a separate punishment proceeding, the trial court sentenced Rios to six years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His appellate counsel filed an Anders brief concluding that the appeal was frivolous. Although the court extended Rios’s deadline to submit a pro se response, he did not file one.
The Court’s Holding
The Texas Ninth Court of Appeals independently examined the entire record and appellate counsel’s brief, as required when counsel files an Anders brief. The court found no reversible error and concluded that the appeal was wholly frivolous.
Because the record disclosed no arguable ground for appeal, the court declined to order the appointment of new counsel to rebrief the case. It affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
Key Takeaways
- An appellate court receiving an Anders brief must independently examine the entire record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous.
- The court found no reversible error or arguable appellate issue in Rios’s conviction and sentence.
- The court affirmed Rios’s six-year sentence without appointing new counsel for additional briefing.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the review required when appointed counsel concludes that a criminal appeal presents no nonfrivolous issues. The filing of an Anders brief does not end the inquiry; the appellate court must independently review the record before affirming.
Here, that review produced no arguable ground for appeal, leaving the conviction and six-year sentence intact.