Phillip Jerome Simmons v. The State of Texas Appeal from 75th District Court of Liberty County (memorandum opinion)
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In The Court of Appeals Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont ________________ NO. 09-22-00134-CR ________________ PHILLIP JEROME SIMMONS, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee ________________________________________________________________________ On Appeal from the 75th District Court Liberty County, Texas Trial Cause No. CR35130 ________________________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OPINION A jury convicted Appellant Phillip Jerome Simmons (“Appellant” or “Simmons”) of murder, a first-degree felony. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.02(c). After a hearing on punishment, the jury found the two alleged enhancements for prior felony convictions “true” and assessed punishment as life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. See id. § 12.42(d) (penalties for repeat or habitual offenders). 1 On appeal, Appellant’s court-appointed attorney filed a brief stating that he has reviewed the case and, based on his professional evaluation of the record and applicable law, there are no arguable grounds for reversal. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978). We granted an extension of time for Simmons to file a pro se brief, and Simmons filed a pro se brief in response. The Court of Criminal Appeals has held that when a court of appeals receives an Anders brief and a pro se brief, the appellate court has two choices. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). “It may determine that the appeal is wholly frivolous and issue an opinion explaining that it has reviewed the record and finds no reversible error[;] [o]r, it may determine that arguable grounds for appeal exist and remand the cause to the trial court so that new counsel may be appointed to brief the issues.” (citation omitted) Id. We do not address the merits of each claim raised in an Anders brief or a pro se brief when we have determined there are no arguable grounds for review. Id. at 827. Upon receiving an Anders brief, this Court must conduct a full examination of all the proceedings to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous. Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80 (1988) (citing Anders, 386 U.S. at 744). We have reviewed the entire record, counsel’s brief, and Simmons’ pro se brief, and we have found nothing that would arguably support an appeal. See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at 827-28 2 (“Due to the nature of Anders briefs, by indicating in the opinion that it considered the issues raised in the briefs and reviewed the record for reversible error but found none, the court of appeals met the requirements of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.1.”). Therefore, we find it unnecessary to order appointment of new counsel to re-brief the appeal. Cf. Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). We affirm the trial court’s judgment.1 AFFIRMED. JAY WRIGHT Justice Submitted on January 30, 2024 Opinion Delivered April 24, 2024 Do Not Publish Before Golemon, C.J., Horton and Wright, JJ. Simmons may challenge our decision in this case by filing a petition for discretionary review with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. See Tex. R. App. P. 68. 3 1
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