Andrew Moran v. The State of Texas

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals for the Second District reviewed Andrew Moran’s Anders appeal from concurrent 14-year sentences for three counts of child-pornography possession. The court found no arguable grounds for relief, deleted unpronounced fines from the judgments, corrected the bill of costs to show no reimbursement fees owed, affirmed the judgments as modified, and granted appointed counsel’s motion to withdraw.

Holdings

1. After appointed counsel fulfills Anders's requirements, the appellate court must independently examine the record for any arguable ground for appeal before granting counsel's motion to withdraw. The court found no arguable ground for relief and granted the motion to withdraw.
2. A fine included as part of a criminal sentence must be orally pronounced in the defendant's presence. Because the trial court did not orally pronounce the fines, the appellate court deleted the $100 fine from each of the three judgments.
3. The bill of costs must be corrected to reflect that no reimbursement fee was currently owed when the trial court credited the $10 reimbursement fee for time served. The court reformed the bill of costs to show $0.00 in total reimbursement fees.

Questions Presented

1. Whether appointed appellate counsel satisfied the requirements of Anders v. California and whether independent review revealed any arguable ground for relief.
2. Whether the three judgments could include $100 fines that were not orally pronounced in Moran's presence.
3. Whether the bill of costs should be corrected to reflect the trial court's credit of the $10 reimbursement fee for time served.

Disposition

affirmed