Elbert Barton v. State ( 2013 )

COURT OF APPEALS
EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EL PASO, TEXAS
ELBERT BARTON, §
No. 08-12-00220-CR
Appellant, §
Appeal from
v. §
Criminal District Court No. 1
§
THE STATE OF TEXAS, of Dallas County, Texas
§
Appellee. (TC#F-1270504-H)
§
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Elbert Barton appeals his conviction of theft of property over $1,500. Appellant waived
his right to a jury trial and entered an open plea of guilty to the trial court. The trial court found
Appellant guilty and assessed punishment, enhanced by two prior convictions, at ten years’
confinement. We affirm.
Appellant’s court-appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw supported by a brief in
which she concludes that this appeal is without merit and wholly frivolous. Appellate counsel
states that she has diligently reviewed the record and has found no grounds of error upon which an
appeal can be predicated. The brief meets the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738,
87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493, reh. denied, 388 U.S. 924, 87 S. Ct. 2094, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1377 (1967),
by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why, in effect, there are no
arguable grounds to be advanced. See High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978).
Appellate counsel delivered a copy of her brief and the record to Appellant and advised Appellant
of his right to review the appellate record and file a pro se brief. Appellant has filed two
documents with the Court which we have liberally construed as a pro se brief and a supplement to
his brief. The State did not file a response to either appellate counsel’s brief or Appellant’s pro se
responses.
We may not address the merits of issues raised in an Anders brief, or those presented in a
pro se response. Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). We may
only consider whether: (1) the appeal is wholly frivolous and issue an opinion explaining that we
have reviewed the record and found no reversible error; or (2) arguable grounds for appeal exist,
and if so, remand the case to the trial court so that new counsel may be appointed to address those
issues. Id. We have carefully reviewed the record, appellate counsel’s brief, and Appellant’s
responses, and agree with appellate counsel that the appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit.
Further, we find nothing in the record that might arguably support the appeal.
The judgment of conviction is affirmed.
GUADALUPE RIVERA, Justice
December 18, 2013
Before McClure, C.J., Rivera, and Rodriguez, JJ.
(Do Not Publish)
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