Caitlin Colleen Hale v. State

Opinion

ACCEPTED 01-15-00611-CR FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 11/20/2015 12:46:48 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK

No. 01-15-00611-CR

IN THE FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS 11/20/2015 12:46:48 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE FOR THE Clerk

FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS

AT HOUSTON ______________________________

CAITLIN COLLEEN HALE Appellant

VS.

THE STATE OF TEXAS Appellee _____________________________

MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL OF RECORD ON APPEAL _________________________________________

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF SAID COURT:

COMES NOW, KYLE B. JOHNSON, counsel for Appellant herein, and files this

his Motion to Withdraw as Counsel of Record on Appeal. In support thereof, he would

respectfully show the Court as follows:

I.

On September 9, 2013, the appellant appeared in court and plead “guilty” to the

offense of Aggravated Assault (involving a Family Member). Pursuant to a plea

agreement, the appellant was placed on a 3 year deferred adjudication probation and

assessed a fine of $500. (CR - 015-032). On March 24, 2015, a Motion to Adjudicate Guilt (MAG) was filed alleging two law violations as well as various technical violations.

On June 15, 2015, the appellant appeared in Court and was arraigned on the

Motion to Adjudicate Guilt. It appears that a deal had been struck with the State in

which, in exchange for a plea of “true” to the MAG allegations, the State would

recommend 2 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal

Justice. However, the trial court was uncomfortable with the appellant’s responses during

the plea and the trial court stopped the proceeding and set the MAG for a hearing.

A hearing on the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt was held over a two day

period and, on June 25, 2015, a number of the allegations were found “true” and the

appellant was sentenced to 7 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department

of Criminal Justice.

II.

In compliance with the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),

High v. State, 573 S.W. 2d 807 (Tex.Crim.App. 1978) and Kelly v. State, 436 S.W. 3d 313

(Tex.Crim.App. 2014), court-appointed counsel on this appeal states that he has diligently

reviewed the entire appellate record in this case as well as the applicable case law. In his

opinion, the record presents no plausible grounds for appeal.

The undersigned attorney has 1) written a letter to the appellant notifying him of

counsel’s opinion, 2) provided the appellant with a copy of this Anders Brief along with a

copy of counsel’s Motion to Withdraw, 3) informed the appellant of his right to file a pro

se response and of his right to review the record preparatory to filing that response, 4)

2 informed the appellant that, should he choose to invoke his right to file a pro se response,

he should sign and date a Motion to Review the Appellate Record (a form for which was

included) and return it to the Court of Appeals within ten days of the date of the

accompanying letter, 5) provided the appellant with the mailing address for the Court of

Appeals, and 6) advised him of his right to file a Petition for Discretionary Review with

the Court of Criminal Appeals should he fail to get relief in the Court of Appeals.

For the reasons set forth above, the appellant’s counsel requests that he be

permitted to withdraw as counsel on appeal for the appellant.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Kyle B. Johnson Kyle B. Johnson SBN: 10763570 917 Franklin, Suite 320 Houston, Texas 77002 Tel: (713) 223-4100 Fax: (713) 224-2889

3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the above and foregoing document has been forwarded to all counsel of record on this 20th day of November, 2015, to wit:

Alan Curry Appellate Division Harris County District Attorney’s Office 1201 Franklin Houston, Texas 77002

Ms. Caitlin Colleen Hale SPN # 02691717 Harris County Jail 1200 Baker St., CB 4F1 Houston, TX 77002

/s/ Kyle B. Johnson Kyle B. Johnson