Dakota Bruce v. the State of Texas

IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-21-00088-CR
DAKOTA BRUCE,
Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee
From the 19th District Court
McLennan County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2020-1188-CI
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Dakota Bruce was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child
and two counts of indecency by contact and placed on community supervision. 1 His
supervision was revoked, and Bruce was sentenced to 10 years for each count. We affirm
the trial court’s judgments.
Bruce’s appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw and an Anders brief in
support of the motion asserting that she has diligently reviewed the appellate record and
that, in her opinion, the appeal is frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).
1
Bruce had originally been placed on juvenile probation but his case and supervision were transferred to
adult district court in 2020.
Counsel's brief evidences a professional evaluation of the record for error and compliance
with the other duties of appointed counsel. We conclude that counsel has performed the
duties required of appointed counsel. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. at 744; High v.
State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978); see also Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313,
319-320 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 407 (Tex. Crim. App.
2008).
In reviewing an Anders appeal, we must, "after a full examination of all the
proceedings, ... decide whether the case is wholly frivolous." Anders v. California, 386
U.S. at 744; see Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80 (1988); accord Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d
503, 509-11 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). An appeal is "wholly frivolous" or "without merit"
when it "lacks any basis in law or fact." McCoy v. Court of Appeals, 486 U.S. 429, 439 n. 10
(1988). After a review of the entire record in this appeal, we have determined the appeal
to be wholly frivolous. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgments.
Counsel's motion to withdraw from representation of Bruce is granted.
TOM GRAY
Chief Justice
Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Johnson, and
Justice Smith
Affirmed
Opinion delivered October 12, 2022
Do not publish
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