Martine Munoz v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 9th District (Beaumont)
Date FiledAugust 5, 2026
Docket09-24-00278-CR
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
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NO. 09-24-00278-CR
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MARTINE MUNOZ, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
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On Appeal from the 253rd District Court
Liberty County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 21DC-CR-00362
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
A grand jury indicted Appellant Martine Munoz for sexual assault of a child.
See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.011(a)(2). Munoz pleaded “not guilty,” and was
represented by counsel. The jury found Munoz guilty of the offense as charged in
the indictment. Munoz pleaded “true” to the enhancement paragraph of the
indictment, and the jury sentenced him to sixty years imprisonment and a fine of
$10,000. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.
1
Munoz’s appellate counsel filed an Anders brief presenting counsel’s
professional evaluation of the record and concludes that the appeal is frivolous; he
also filed a motion to withdraw as counsel. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978). On January 21, 2025,
after Munoz’s counsel filed his brief, we granted an extension of time for Munoz to
file a pro se brief, and Munoz filed a pro se brief.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has held that when a court of appeals receives
an Anders brief and a later-filed pro se response, we need not address the merits of
the issues raised in an Anders brief or a pro se response. See Bledsoe v. State, 178
S.W.3d 824, 826–27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Rather, an appellate court may
determine: (1) “that the appeal is wholly frivolous and issue an opinion explaining
that it has reviewed the record and finds no reversible error[;]” or (2) “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.” Id. (citations omitted).
Upon receiving an Anders brief, a court must conduct a full examination of
the record 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 Munoz’s pro se brief, and we have found no reversible
error, and we conclude the appeal is wholly frivolous. See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at
827–28. Therefore, we find it unnecessary to order appointment of new counsel to
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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.
W. SCOTT GOLEMON
Chief Justice
Submitted on July 14, 2025
Opinion Delivered August 5, 2026
Do Not Publish
Before Golemon, C.J., Johnson and Wright, JJ.
1
Munoz may challenge our decision by filing a petition for discretionary
review. See Tex. R. App. P. 68.
3