Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Under a plea bargain, Brandon Julius Bell pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony. The trial court found the evidence sufficient to find him guilty but deferred further proceedings and placed him on community supervision for five years.
The State later moved to revoke Bell’s unadjudicated probation. Bell pleaded true to seven alleged violations of his community-supervision conditions. After an evidentiary hearing on three additional allegations that he denied, the trial court found two of those allegations true, revoked community supervision, adjudicated Bell guilty, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
The Court’s Holding
Bell’s appointed appellate counsel filed an Anders brief stating that counsel had professionally reviewed the record and concluded the appeal was frivolous. Although the court extended Bell’s deadline to file a pro se brief, Bell did not submit one.
After independently reviewing the appellate record, the Ninth Court of Appeals agreed that no arguable issue supported the appeal. The court therefore declined to appoint new counsel for further briefing and affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant’s pleas of true to alleged community-supervision violations supported revocation proceedings.
- The appellate court independently reviewed the record after counsel filed an Anders brief.
- Finding no arguable appellate issue, the court affirmed Bell’s adjudication and 12-year sentence.
Why It Matters
The memorandum opinion illustrates the Anders procedure in a Texas criminal appeal: counsel may identify an appeal as frivolous, but the appellate court must independently examine the record before affirming. Here, that review revealed no nonfrivolous ground for challenging the revocation, adjudication, or resulting sentence.