Opinion
No. 05-14-00172-CR
10-21-2014
CHARLES VERNON HAYNES, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 6 Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 006-80283-2013
ORDER
Appellant's counsel filed a motion to withdraw and an Anders brief in support of the motion. The record reflects that appellate counsel Shawn Ismail was also trial counsel. This Court has held that an attorney who serves as both trial and appellate counsel may not file an Anders brief. See Chandler v. State, 988 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex. App.–Dallas 1999, no pet.).
Accordingly, we STRIKE the Anders brief filed by counsel Shawn Ismail on October 20, 2014.
We GRANT the October 16, 2014 motion of Shawn Ismail to withdraw as appellate counsel. We DIRECT the Clerk of this Court to remove Shawn Ismail as appellant's attorney of record.
We ORDER the trial court to appoint new counsel to represent appellant in this appeal and to transmit the record containing the order appointing new counsel to this Court within FIFTEEN DAYS of the date of this order.
We DIRECT the Clerk to send copies of this order, by electronic transmission, to the Honorable Jay Bender, Presiding Judge, County Court at Law No. 6; Shawn Ismail; and the Collin County District Attorney's Office.
We ABATE the appeal to allow the trial court to comply with this order. The appeal shall be reinstated fifteen days from the date of this order or when the order appointing new counsel is received.
Although counsel discusses various aspects of the proceedings and the sentence, the brief does not address voir dire, any pretrial motions, or the jury charge as to both the guilt and punishment stages.
/s/ CAROLYN WRIGHT
CHIEF JUSTICE