Phillip Alvin Rodriguez v. the State of Texas, 11-19-00329-CR

Appellant Phillip Alvin Rodriguez pleaded guilty to murder; jury found him guilty, rejected sudden passion, and assessed 50 years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
Appellant was represented by court-appointed counsel, who filed a motion to withdraw supported by an Anders brief concluding the appeal was frivolous and without merit.
Counsel provided Rodriguez the clerk’s and reporter’s records, the brief, a withdrawal motion, and an explanatory letter, and informed him of his rights (including to file a pro se response and seek discretionary review).
Rodriguez filed a pro se response raising various contentions; the court independently reviewed the record under Anders/Schulman procedures.
The court found no arguable grounds for appeal, granted counsel’s motion to withdraw, and affirmed the trial court’s judgment, but identified a nonreversible error: the trial court had assessed a $25 Time Payment Fee prematurely.
Relying on Dulin and Cates, the court modified the judgment and bill of costs to delete the $25 Time Payment Fee without prejudice to later assessment per Dulin, and noted Rodriguez’s right to file a petition for discretionary review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the appeal is frivolous and counsel may withdraw under Anders	Rodriguez filed pro se claims; argues issues exist	State urged no reversible error; counsel asserted appeal frivolous	Court independently reviewed record, found no arguable grounds, granted counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirmed
Whether the $25 Time Payment Fee was properly assessed as court costs	Rodriguez challenged costs (via appellate review)	Trial court had included $25 Time Payment Fee in costs	Fee was prematurely assessed under Dulin; court struck the $25 fee from judgment and bill of costs without prejudice to later assessment

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (procedure for appointed counsel to withdraw when appeal is frivolous)
In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d 403 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (procedure for courts when counsel files Anders brief)
Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (standards for Anders-type appeals)
Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (options for appeals with Anders briefs)
Dulin v. State, 620 S.W.3d 129 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021) (Time Payment Fee prematurely assessed; may be struck and later imposed only under conditions)
Cates v. State, 402 S.W.3d 250 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (courts should modify judgments to remove improperly assessed fees)