State v. Wells

2000 UT App 304, 13 P.3d 1056, 412 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2000 Utah App. LEXIS 90, 2000 WL 1638201
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedNovember 2, 2000
Docket990635-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 2000 UT App 304 (State v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wells, 2000 UT App 304, 13 P.3d 1056, 412 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2000 Utah App. LEXIS 90, 2000 WL 1638201 (Utah Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

11 This case is before the court on the State's "Motion for Order Requiring Defense Counsel to File Supplement[al] Brief in Response to Defendant/Appellant's Reply to the Anders Brief" Because the issues raised are of interest to the criminal appellate bar, we issue this opinion.

I 2 On April 11, 2000, appellant's appointed counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 788, 87 S.Ct. 1896, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and State v. Clayton, 639 P.2d 168 (Utah 1981), analyzing the possible claims on appeal and concluding the appeal presents no nonfrivolous issues for determination by the court. In the Amders brief, counsel "requested that this court allow the Appellant to have a reasonable amount of time to file a brief or commentary as to this brief if he should so decide." Counsel also certified that she had notified the appellant "of her intent to withdraw and sent him a copy of the motion, the request for an extension of time in which he can reply and a copy of the brief filed by counsel." On May 8, 2000, appellant filed a reply to the Anders brief, alleging that appellate counsel failed to address the following issues: (1) that appellant received ineffective assistance because trial counsel did not move for a change of venue based on an alleged conflict of interest within the prosecutor's office; (2) that he received ineffective assistance because trial counsel did not object to prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; (8) that he was denied due process due to a conflict of interest within the prosecutor's office; (4) that he was denied due process due to prose-cutorial misconduct; and (5) that the trial court committed plain error in entering its minimum mandatory sentence without making written findings. The appellant's reply contained a detailed analysis of these issues from appellant's perspective, containing citations to the record and case law and arguing that the appeal presented valid and meritorious claims that should be presented to the court.

{ 3 The State moved for an order requiring defense counsel to file a supplemental brief in response to appellant's reply to the An-ders brief. The State argued that it "could not properly address the adequacy of counsel's Anders brief absent that supplementation." The motion raises an important issue regarding compliance with the Amders requirements as adopted and restated by the Utah Supreme Court in Clayton.

{ 4 The Anders requirements may be summarized as follows:

1; Counsel must continue to act in the role of an active advocate in behalf of his or her client.
2, The role as advocate requires that counsel support the client's appeal to the best of his or her ability.
3. If counsel finds the appeal to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, counsel should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw.
4. The request must be accompanied by a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal.
5. A copy of counsel's brief must be furnished to the indigent client and time allowed him or her to raise any points that he or she chooses.
6. The court-not counsel-then proceeds, after a full examination of all the proceedings, to decide whether the case is wholly frivolous.
7. If it so finds, the court may grant counsel's request to withdraw and dismiss the appeal insofar as federal requirements are concerned, or proceed to a decision on the merits, if state law so requires.
8. If the court finds any of the legal points arguable on their merits, it must, prior to decision, afford the indigent defendant the assistance of counsel to argue the appeal.

See Clayton, 639 P.2d at 169-70.

15 After an appellate court receives an Anders brief, the court must undertake an *1058 independent examination of the record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous. In Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), appointed counsel was allowed to withdraw by the state appellate court based upon a "Certification of Meritless Appeal and Motion," which stated in conclusory terms that counsel found no errors requiring reversal, modification, or vacation of the conviction or sentence. Id. at 78, 109 S.Ct. 346. The appellate court then directed appellant to file a pro se brief and denied his requests for appointment of a new attorney. The Ohio Court of Appeals made its own determination on the merits, noting that the certification that the appeal was meritless was "highly questionable." Id. at 75, 109 S.Ct. 346. The court of appeals ultimately reversed the conviction on one count based upon plain error, but affirmed the convictions on the remaining counts. See id. Following the dismissal of a discretionary appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court granted certio-rari and reversed, determining that the Ohio court erred in allowing counsel to withdraw based upon counsel's conclusory statement that the appeal was meritless and in requiring appellant to proceed pro se. See id. at 81, 109 S.Ct. 346.

16 The United States Supreme Court stated in Penson that an Anders brief serves "the valuable purpose of assisting the court in determining both that counsel in fact conducted the required detailed review of the case and that the appeal is indeed so frivolous that it may be decided without an adversary presentation." Id. at 81-82, 109 S.Ct. 346. After an appellate court receives counsel's Anders brief, "the court must then undertake a full examination of the record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous." Id. at 80, 109 S.Ct. 346 (citation omitted). "Only after this separate inquiry, and only after the appellate court finds no non-frivolous issue for appeal, may the court proceed to consider the appeal on the merits without the assistance of counsel." Id. "On the other hand, if the court disagrees with counsel ... and concludes that there are nonfrivolous issues for appeal, 'it must, prior to decision, afford the indigent the assistance of counsel to argue the appeal" " Id. (quoting Anders, 386 U .S. at 744, 87 S.Ct. at 1400).

17 It follows from Anders, Penson, and Clayton that counsel is required to undertake the task of briefing all potential issues identified by either the defendant or counsel and objectively demonstrating that the issues presented in the appeal are frivolous. See State v. Flores, 855 P.2d 258, 260 (Utah Ct.App.1998) (per curiam) (requiring Anders brief "to objectively demonstrate that the issues are frivolous"). It would be contrary to that requirement to adopt a procedure requiring or allowing an appellant to file a pro se brief in response to an Anders brief before the appellate court's determination that the appeal is wholly frivolous. Such a procedure not only deprives the defendant of the representation contemplated in Anders, it also deprives "the court of the assistance of an advocate in its own review of the cold record on appeal." Penson, 488 U.S. at 82, 109 S.Ct. 346.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Blanton
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
State v. Flores
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016
State v. Gomez
2015 UT App 283 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2015)
State v. Villeda
2015 UT App 56 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2015)
State v. Shook
2015 UT App 16 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2015)
Ogden City v. Stites
2002 UT App 357 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2000 UT App 304, 13 P.3d 1056, 412 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2000 Utah App. LEXIS 90, 2000 WL 1638201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wells-utahctapp-2000.