Latoya Denise McMullen v. State, 05-15-01284-CR

Appellant Latoya Denise McMullen was convicted of repeated violation of a protective order and stalking; after adjudication, the trial court assessed five years' imprisonment in each case.
Appointed appellate counsel moved to withdraw under Anders v. California, asserting the appeals were frivolous.
Counsel filed an Anders-style brief, but it misidentified the appellant in parts and omitted analysis on key potential grounds (sufficiency of evidence, admissibility, punishment validity, ineffective assistance).
The Court of Appeals found counsel’s brief inadequate because it failed to make a professional evaluation of the record and thus did not satisfy Anders procedures.
The court struck the inadequate brief, granted counsel’s motion to withdraw, and ordered the trial court to appoint new counsel within 30 days to review the record and file a proper brief.
New counsel’s brief is due 30 days after appointment; the State’s brief is due 30 days after appellant’s brief, and the court will reschedule submission thereafter.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel complied with Anders procedures	Counsel argued appeals were frivolous and sought leave to withdraw	McMullen (through court oversight) effectively argued procedural adequacy of Anders brief matters	Court held counsel’s Anders brief was inadequate and struck it
Whether the record was professionally evaluated for arguable issues	Counsel implied no meritorious issues to raise	Trial court/appeals court required a review to identify any arguable grounds	Court ordered new counsel to investigate and brief any arguable issues
Whether appointed counsel should be permitted to withdraw despite deficient brief	Counsel sought withdrawal under Anders	Court required full compliance with Anders safeguards before withdrawal	Court granted withdrawal but only after striking the inadequate brief and requiring new counsel be appointed
Proper remedy for inadequate Anders brief	Counsel implicitly requested dismissal of appellate advocacy obligations	Appellate court emphasized appellant’s right to effective appellate review	Court ordered appointment of new counsel and replacement briefing schedule

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (establishing procedure for appointed counsel to withdraw when appeal is frivolous)
McCoy v. Court of Appeals, 486 U.S. 429 (withdrawing counsel required when counsel determines appeal frivolous; procedures for withdrawal)
Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (inadequate Anders brief warrants striking and appointment of new counsel)