In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
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NO. 09-13-00408-CR
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ERNEST JOE BILNOSKI, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
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On Appeal from the 221st District Court
Montgomery County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 13-07-07790 CR
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
A jury found appellant Ernest Joe Bilnoski guilty of arson as a habitual
felony offender and assessed punishment at forty-five years of imprisonment.
Bilnoski’s appellate counsel filed a brief that presents counsel’s professional
evaluation of the record and concludes the appeal is frivolous. See Anders v.
California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex. Crim. App.
1978).
Bilnoski filed a pro se brief in response. The Court of Criminal Appeals has
held that we need not address the merits of issues raised in Anders briefs or pro se
responses. Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
Rather, an appellate court may determine either: (1) “that the appeal is wholly
frivolous and issue an opinion explaining that it has reviewed the record and finds
no reversible error”; or (2) “that arguable grounds for appeal exist and remand the
cause to the trial court so that new counsel may be appointed to brief the issues.”
Id.
We have reviewed the appellate record, and we agree with counsel’s
conclusion that no arguable issues support an appeal. See id. Therefore, we find it
unnecessary to order appointment of new counsel to re-brief the appeal. Compare
Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). We affirm the trial
court’s judgment.1
AFFIRMED.
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STEVE McKEITHEN
Chief Justice
Submitted on August 22, 2014
Opinion Delivered September 17, 2014
Do Not Publish
Before McKeithen, C.J., Kreger and Johnson, JJ.
1
Bilnoski may challenge our decision in this case by filing a petition for
discretionary review. See Tex. R. App. P. 68.