Javier Sanchez v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 7th District (Amarillo)
Date FiledAugust 27, 2026
Docket07-25-00340-CR
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-25-00340-CR
JAVIER SANCHEZ, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 320th District Court
Potter County, Texas
Trial Court No. 086580-D-CR, Honorable Steven Denny, Presiding
August 27, 2026
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
Before DOSS and YARBROUGH and PRATT, JJ.
Appellant, Javier Sanchez, appeals from the judgment of conviction entered
against him and in favor of Appellee, the State of Texas. His court-appointed appellate
counsel has filed a motion to withdraw supported by a brief filed under Anders v.
California.1 Counsel states that he found no error in the guilt-innocence phase of the trial.
Our independent review of the record reveals at least one arguable issue that is not wholly
1 See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744–45, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 1400, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967).
frivolous. We grant the motion to withdraw, abate the appeal, and remand the cause to
the trial court for the appointment of new counsel.
BACKGROUND
A grand jury indicted Appellant for evading arrest or detention, enhanced by prior
convictions. A jury found him guilty as charged and found both enhancement allegations
true. The jury assessed punishment at five years of confinement in the Institutional
Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
ANALYSIS
When court-appointed counsel files a motion to withdraw and an Anders brief, we
must independently examine the record for any arguable ground that may be raised on
the appellant’s behalf. See Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App.
1991). That examination leads to one of two outcomes. We may conclude that the appeal
is wholly frivolous and issue an opinion explaining that we have reviewed the record and
found no reversible error. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–27 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2005). Or we may conclude that arguable grounds exist and remand the cause so
that new counsel may be appointed to brief them. Id. (citing Stafford, 813 S.W.2d at 510).
The record here presents an arguable issue. Before trial, Appellant moved to
determine the admissibility of statements he made while, as he asserted, under arrest
and without having received the warnings required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436
(1966). The trial court did not rule on the motion before trial. A body camera recording
admitted at trial captured an interaction between Appellant and a law enforcement officer
after Appellant was placed under arrest. When the State offered Appellant’s statements,
2
Appellant objected that they were the product of custodial interrogation conducted without
the required warnings. The court heard the objection outside the presence of the jury,
overruled it, and granted Appellant a running objection. The Anders brief makes no
mention of the recorded interaction, the objection, or the ruling.
We cannot say that a challenge to the admission of the statements would be wholly
frivolous, whatever its ultimate merit. See Davis v. State, 683 S.W.3d 828, 830 (Tex.
App.—Amarillo 2023, no pet.) (“[w]hen at least one issue is arguable, Anders is not the
proper mode of continuation”) (citing Limauro v. State, 675 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. App.—
Dallas 2023, no pet.). We express no view on how the question should be resolved. We
hold only that it deserves briefing.
CONCLUSION
We grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, abate the appeal, and remand the cause
to the trial court. Upon remand, the trial court shall appoint new appellate counsel by
written order. The order must state the name, address, email address, telephone number,
and State Bar number of newly appointed counsel. The trial court shall cause the order
to be filed in a supplemental clerk’s record with the Clerk of this Court no later than
Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Newly appointed counsel may request supplementation of the appellate record.
Any such request must be made by written motion filed with the Clerk of this Court on or
before Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Appellant’s brief addressing the issue identified
above, and any other non-frivolous issue counsel encounters, is due Friday, November
6, 2026, unless otherwise extended.
3
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
4