William Ian Campbell v. State

Opinion

02-11-164&165-CR

COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH

NOS. 02-11-00164-CR

         02-11-00165-CR

William Ian Campbell		APPELLANT
V.
The State of Texas		STATE

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FROM Criminal District Court No. 4 OF Tarrant COUNTY

MEMORANDUM OPINION^[1] AND JUDGMENT

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          Appellant William Ian Campbell’s appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw as attorney on appeal and a brief supporting that motion in compliance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967).  We notified Appellant of his opportunity to file a pro se response to his appointed counsel’s Anders brief.  Appellant did not file a response but instead filed a pro se letter requesting that we dismiss his appeal in the above cause numbers.

We interpret Appellant’s letter as a motion to dismiss his appeal.  The motion was signed by Appellant only and not by his appointed counsel; therefore, the motion does not comply with rule 42.2(a) of the rules of appellate procedure.  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.2(a).  But because Appellant’s appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw and a supporting brief stating that any appeal would be wholly frivolous and without merit, on our own initiative and for good cause, we suspend rule 42.2(a)’s requirement that the motion be signed by Appellant’s attorney.  See Tex. R. App. P. 2 (providing that “on its own initiative an appellate court may—to expedite a decision or for other good cause—suspend a rule’s operation in a particular case”); Smith v. State, No. 02-07-00029-CR, 2007 WL 1725820, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth June 14, 2007, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication).

No decision of this court having been delivered before we received this motion, we grant the motion and dismiss the appeal.^[2]  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.2(a), 43.2(f).

PER CURIAM

PANEL:  WALKER, MCCOY, and MEIER, JJ.

DO NOT PUBLISH

Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)

DELIVERED:  November 3, 2011

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^[1]See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.

^[2]Because Campbell has voluntarily dismissed this appeal, we need not address counsel’s motion to withdraw.