Appellant Kirkland Warren’s parental rights were terminated as to his daughter, K.S.M. Appellant’s counsel had filed an Anders brief, although there is no Texas authority to do so. We affirm.
Appellant’s counsel, in compliance with
Anders v. California,
In the past,
Anders
briefs have been limited to criminal cases, as in
Gainous.
But in 1998, the Texas Supreme Court extended
Anders
to the civil realm, allowing attorneys to file
Anders
briefs in juvenile delinquency proceedings.
See In Re D.A.S.,
In
Anders,
the United States Supreme Court addressed the responsibilities of appointed counsel who has concluded that an indigent client’s criminal appeal is frivolous. Recognizing the need to safeguard both a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to counsel and the appointed counsel’s obligation not to bring frivolous claims before a court, the Court set forth a procedure appointed counsel must follow in such cases.
Anders,
The case before us differs from an
Anders
case because appeals from orders terminating parental rights are civil rather than criminal. The minority jurisdictions, which we cited above, argue that the right of concern in
Anders
is the federal constitutional right to counsel in criminal cases. In contrast, the right involved in a parental termination case is based solely in state law.
See In Re Adrian T. Hall,
In addition, the difference in the nature of the case, i.e., civil rather than criminal, makes no difference in the duties court-appointed counsel owes his or her client. From counsel’s perspective, counsel’s duty to competently and diligently represent the client is exactly the same in a civil appeal from an order terminating parental rights as in an appeal from a criminal conviction. See Tex.R. Disciplinary P. 3.01, reprinted in Tex. Gov’t Code Ann., tit 2, subtit. G app. A Art. 10 § 9 (Vernon 1998)(prohibiting a lawyer from bringing or defending a proceeding, or asserting or controverting an issue therein, unless the lawyer reasonably believes that there is a basis for doing so that is not frivolous). Moreover, in both criminal and parental termination cases, counsel may conclude, after thoroughly and conscientiously examining the case, that a case lacks any non-frivolous issues for appeal. Despite the civil or criminal nature of the appeal, counsel in such a situation faces the same dilemma of having to diligently represent the indigent client who wants to appeal while still complying with counsel’s other ethical duties as a member of the Bar. For these reasons, we hold that when appointed counsel represents an indigent client in a parental termination appeal and concludes that there are no non-frivolous issues for appeal, counsel may file an An- ders-type brief. Pursuant to our above holding, we accept counsel’s Anders brief. As has counsel in the instant case, we have reviewed the record for reversible error and have found none.
As required by
Stafford v. State,
Notes
. Counsel for Appellant provided Appellant with a copy of his brief and Appellant was given time to file his own brief in this cause. The time for filing such a brief has expired and we have received no pro se brief.
