Brian Ward Coulter v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: December 18, 2025
• Docket: 01-24-00304-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued December 18, 2025.

In the

Court of Appeals for the

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-24-00304-CR ——————————— BRIAN WARD COULTER, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 178th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1848949 MEMORANDUM OPINION

A court found appellant, Brian Ward Coulter, guilty of the felony offense of

capital murder,1 and the trial court assessed his punishment at confinement for life

without the possibility of parole. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal.

Appellant’s appointed counsel on appeal has filed a motion to withdraw,

along with a brief stating that the record presents no reversible error and the appeal

is without merit and frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744-45

(1967).

Counsel’s brief meets the Anders requirements by presenting a professional

evaluation of the record and supplying the Court with references to the record and

legal authority. See id. at 744; see also High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 811-12

(Tex. Crim. App. 1978). Counsel indicates that he has thoroughly reviewed the

record and is unable to advance any grounds of error that warrant reversal. See

Anders, 386 U.S. at 744; Mitchell v. State, 193 S.W.3d 153, 155 (Tex. App.—

Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no pet.).

Counsel has informed the Court that he provided appellant with a copy of his

Anders brief and motion to withdraw. Counsel also informed appellant of his right

to examine the appellate record and file a response to counsel’s Anders brief.

Further, counsel provided appellant with a copy of the appellate record and a form

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE § 19.03(a)(8).

2 motion to access the appellate record.2 See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319–20

(Tex. Crim. App. 2014); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 408 (Tex. Crim. App.

2008). Appellant has not filed a response to his counsel’s Anders brief.

We have independently reviewed the entire record, and we conclude that no

reversible error exists in the record, there are no arguable grounds for review, and

the appeal is frivolous. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744 (emphasizing reviewing

court—and not counsel—determines, after full examination of proceedings,

whether appeal is wholly frivolous); Garner v. State, 300 S.W.3d 763, 767 (Tex.

Crim. App. 2009) (stating that reviewing court must determine whether arguable

grounds for review exist); Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–27 (Tex. Crim.

App. 2005) (same); Mitchell, 193 S.W.3d at 155 (stating that reviewing court

determines whether arguable grounds exist by reviewing entire record). We note

that appellant may challenge a holding that there are no arguable grounds for an

appeal by filing a petition for discretionary review in the Texas Court of Criminal

Appeals. See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at 827 & n.6.

2 This Court also notified appellant that counsel had filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw, and informed appellant that he had a right to examine the appellate record and file a response to his counsel’s Anders brief. And this Court provided appellant with a form motion to access the appellate record. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319–22 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 408-09 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).

3 Conclusion

We affirm the judgment of the trial court and grant appellant’s appointed

counsel’s motion to withdraw.3 Attorney Terrence Gaiser must immediately send

appellant the required notice and file a copy of the notice with the Clerk of this

Court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5(c). We dismiss any other pending motions as moot.

Amparo “Amy” Guerra Justice

Panel consists of Justices Guerra, Caughey, and Dokupil.

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

3 Appellant’s counsel still has a duty to inform appellant of the result of the appeal and that appellant may, on his own, pursue discretionary review in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. See Ex parte Wilson, 956 S.W.2d 25, 27 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997).