In the Interest of Z.W. v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 15, 2025
• Docket: 09-24-00443-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

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NO. 09-24-00443-CV ________________

IN THE INTEREST OF Z.W.

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On Appeal from the County Court at Law Orange County, Texas Trial Cause No. 230328-D ________________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Mother appeals from an order terminating her parental rights to her minor

child, Z.W. 1 The trial court found, by clear and convincing evidence, that statutory

grounds exist for termination of Mother’s parental rights and that termination of her

parental rights would be in the best interest of the child. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §

161.001(b)(1)(D), (E), (O), (2).

1 To protect the identity of the child, we use pseudonyms and initials to refer to the child and the parent. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.8(b)(2). 1 Mother’s appointed attorney submitted a brief in which she contends that there

are no meritorious issues for appeal and that the appeal is frivolous. See Anders v.

California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); In re L.D.T., 161 S.W.3d 728, 730–31 (Tex.

App.—Beaumont 2005, no pet.) (noting Anders procedures apply in parental-rights

termination cases). The brief presents the attorney’s professional evaluation of the

record and explains why no arguable grounds exist to overturn the trial court’s

judgment. The attorney represented to the Court that she gave Mother a copy of the

Anders brief she filed and notified Mother of her right to file a pro se brief. The

Court notified Mother of her right to file a pro se response and the deadline for doing

so. Mother did not file a response with the Court.

We have independently evaluated the appellate record, and the brief filed by

Mother’s court-appointed attorney. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80 (1988)

(citing Anders, 386 U.S. at 744); Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–27 (Tex.

Crim. App. 2005); In re K.R.C., 346 S.W.3d 618, 619 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2009,

no pet.). Based on our review of the record, we have found nothing that would

arguably support an appeal, and we agree that the appeal is frivolous and lacks merit.

See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at 827–28 (“Due to the nature of Anders briefs, by

indicating in the opinion that it considered the issues raised in the briefs and

reviewed the record for reversible error but found none, the court of appeals met the

requirements of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.1.”); In re K.R.C., 346

2 S.W.3d at 619. Therefore, we find it unnecessary to order appointment of new

counsel to re-brief the appeal. Cf. Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim.

App. 1991).

We affirm the trial court’s order terminating Mother’s parental rights. Should

Mother decide to pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas, her counsel’s

obligation can be met “by filing a petition for review that satisfies the standards for

an Anders brief.” See In re P.M., 520 S.W.3d 24, 27–28 (Tex. 2016).

AFFIRMED.

JAY WRIGHT Justice

Submitted on May 5, 2025 Opinion Delivered May 15, 2025

Before Golemon, C.J., Johnson and Wright, JJ.