David Lewis Tipton v. State

COURT OF APPEALS EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS EL PASO, TEXAS DAVID LEWIS TIPTON, § No. 08-15-00069-CR § Appellant, Appeal from the § V. Criminal District Court No. 3 § of Tarrant County, Texas THE STATE OF TEXAS, § (TC# 1355209D) § Appellee. § MEMORANDUM OPINION David Lewis Tipton appeals his conviction of manslaughter, enhanced by two prior felony convictions. After finding Appellant guilty of manslaughter, a jury found the enhancement paragraphs true and assessed his punishment at imprisonment for a term of thirty- three years. We affirm. FRIVOLOUS APPEAL Appellant’s court-appointed counsel has filed a brief in which she has concluded that the appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit. The brief meets the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why, in effect, there are no arguable grounds to be advanced. See In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403, 407 n.9 (Tex.Crim.App. 2008)(“In Texas, an Anders brief need not specifically advance ‘arguable’ points of error if counsel finds none, but it must provide record references to the facts and procedural history and set out pertinent legal authorities.”); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex.Crim.App. 1978). Counsel has notified the Court in writing that she has delivered a copy of counsel’s brief and the motion to withdraw to Appellant, and she has advised Appellant of his right to review the record, file a pro se brief, and to seek discretionary review. Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 318-20 (Tex.Crim.App. 2014)(setting forth duties of counsel). Appellant has been provided access to the appellate record and he has filed a pro se brief. We have carefully reviewed the record, counsel’s brief, and Appellant’s pro se brief, and agree that the appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit. Further, we find nothing in the record that might arguably support the appeal. A further discussion of the issues advanced in Appellant’s pro se brief would add nothing to the jurisprudence of the state. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. April 29, 2016 ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez, and Hughes, JJ. (Do Not Publish) -2-