Luis Munoz v. the State of Texas ( 2023 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-23-00088-CR
LUIS MUNOZ, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 140th District Court
Lubbock County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2020-421042, Honorable Douglas H. Freitag, Presiding
June 27, 2023
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and DOSS, JJ.
Appellant, Luis Munoz, appeals his conviction for aggravated robbery1 and
sentence to ninety-nine years’ confinement. Now pending before the Court is the motion
of Appellant’s appointed counsel, Jennifer Ann Zarka, seeking to withdraw and requesting
permission to substitute Christopher M. Perri as counsel. Because the trial court is
responsible for appointing counsel to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases, as
1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.03.
well as relieving or replacing appointed counsel, we abate the appeal and remand the
cause to the trial court to rule on Appellant’s motion to substitute counsel. See TEX. CODE
CRIM. PROC. ANN. arts. 1.051(d), 26.04(j)(2).
Upon remand, the trial court shall determine (1) whether Appellant still desires to
prosecute the appeal; (2) whether Appellant has retained counsel to represent him in this
appeal; (3) if so, whether Appellant remains indigent and entitled to appointed counsel;
and (4) whether to dismiss appointed counsel. The trial court may also enter such orders
necessary to address the aforementioned questions. The trial court’s findings and any
orders issued shall be included in a supplemental clerk’s record to be filed with this Court
by July 27, 2023.
All other appellate deadlines, including Appellant’s pending briefing deadline, are
suspended until further order of this Court.
It is so ordered.
Per Curiam
2