Summary
The Seventh Court of Appeals of Texas at Amarillo reviewed an Anders appeal from a judgment convicting Nathaniel Allen Huffman of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentencing him to seventeen years in prison. The court found no arguable grounds for appeal, modified the judgment to correct clerical errors concerning the enhancement and waiver of appeal, affirmed as modified, and granted counsel's motion to withdraw.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether appointed counsel satisfied the requirements for withdrawal under Anders v. California by filing a brief demonstrating that the record presented no arguable grounds for appeal.
- Whether the appellate court could modify the judgment to correct clerical errors that omitted the enhancement to which Huffman pleaded true and incorrectly stated that his right to appeal was waived.
Holdings
- Counsel's Anders brief and motion to withdraw satisfied the applicable requirements, and the independent review of the record disclosed no arguable grounds for appeal.
- The court could modify the judgment to correct clerical errors because the necessary information appeared in the record.
Key quotations
“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.” (2)
Factual background
Huffman was asked to leave a Toot'n Totum convenience store because of a history of theft from the business. He threatened the assistant manager with a knife and was arrested. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and pleaded true to a felony enhancement from Arizona; the trial court sentenced him to seventeen years in prison.
Procedural history
Huffman was charged in the 108th District Court of Potter County, Texas, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and pleaded true to an Arizona felony enhancement. The trial court imposed a seventeen-year prison sentence. On appeal, appointed counsel filed an Anders brief asserting that no arguable grounds existed. The Court of Appeals independently reviewed the record, corrected two clerical errors in the judgment, granted counsel's motion to withdraw, and affirmed the judgment as reformed.