Jay Aaron Lewis v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 22, 2023
• Docket: 10-22-00144-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-22-00144-CR

JAY AARON LEWIS, Appellant v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

From the 19th District Court McLennan County, Texas Trial Court No. 2018-1310-C1

MEMORANDUM OPINION

A jury found Appellant Jay Aaron Lewis guilty of the offense of driving while

intoxicated and assessed his sentence at six years’ incarceration. The trial court

sentenced Lewis accordingly. Lewis then filed the present appeal. We will affirm.

Lewis’s appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw and an Anders brief in

support of the motion asserting that he has diligently reviewed the appellate record and

that, in his opinion, the appeal is frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct.

1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). 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 id. at

744, 87 S.Ct. at 1400; High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812–13 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.]

1978); see also Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); In re

Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 407–09 (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, 386 U.S. at 744,

87 S.Ct. at 1400; see Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80, 109 S.Ct. 346, 349–50, 102 L.Ed.2d 300

(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, 438 n.10, 108 S.Ct. 1895, 1902 n.10, 100 L.Ed.2d

440 (1988). Although provided the opportunity, Lewis has not filed a response to the

motion to withdraw or Anders brief. 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, 826–28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

Counsel's motion to withdraw from representation of Lewis is granted.

MATT JOHNSON Justice

Lewis v. State Page 2 Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith Affirmed Motion granted Opinion delivered and filed March 22, 2023 Do not publish [CR25]

Lewis v. State Page 3