Kaley Brynn Johnston v. The State of Texas

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals for the Second District affirmed Kaley Brynn Johnston’s conviction for possession of methamphetamine, modifying the written judgment to delete a $1,385 restitution fee that was not orally pronounced at sentencing. The court granted appointed counsel’s motion to withdraw under Anders v. California and concluded that the appeal was otherwise frivolous.

Holdings

1. After appointed counsel files a compliant Anders brief and motion to withdraw asserting that the appeal is frivolous, the appellate court must independently examine the record for any arguable ground for relief before granting the motion to withdraw.
2. When the oral pronouncement of sentence and the written judgment differ, the oral pronouncement controls; a restitution fee not included in the oral pronouncement is improperly imposed and must be deleted from the written judgment.
3. An appellate court has authority to reform a judgment in an Anders appeal and affirm the judgment as reformed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether counsel's Anders brief and motion to withdraw satisfied the applicable requirements and whether independent review revealed any arguable ground for relief.
2. Whether a restitution fee that was not included in the oral pronouncement of sentence could properly appear in the written judgment.
3. Whether the appellate court could reform the judgment in an Anders appeal by deleting the improperly imposed restitution fee.

Disposition

other