Lavelle Simpson v. the State of Texas

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas May 17, 2021 No. 04-20-00543-CR Lavelle SIMPSON, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee From the 437th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2018CR10237 Honorable Lori I. Valenzuela, Judge Presiding ORDER Appellant’s court-appointed counsel has filed a brief and a motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), in which he asserts there are no meritorious issues to raise on appeal. Counsel certifies he has served copies of the brief and the motion on appellant, has informed appellant of his right to review the record and file his own brief, and has explained to appellant the procedure for obtaining the record. See Nichols v. State, 954 S.W.2d 83, 85 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1997, no pet.); Bruns v. State, 924 S.W.2d 176, 177 n.1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1996, no pet.). However, counsel does not certify he has provided appellant with a form motion for requesting the appellate record as required by Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319-20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (“Appointed counsel should include in his letter to the appellant a form motion for [pro se access to the appellate record], lacking only the appellant's signature and the date, and inform the appellant that, in order to effectuate his right to review the appellate record pro se, should he choose to invoke it, he must sign and date the motion and send it on to the court of appeals within ten days of the date of the letter from appellate counsel. Counsel should make sure to supply the appellant with the mailing address for the relevant court of appeals.”). We, therefore, ORDER counsel to provide appellant with a form motion for requesting the appellate record and to file in this court, on or before May 28, 2021, a certification stating he has provided appellant with a form motion requesting the appellate record. See id. _________________________________ Irene Rios, Justice IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 17th day of May, 2021. ___________________________________ Michael A. Cruz, Clerk of Court