Luis Alberto Nolasco v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
Date FiledAugust 27, 2026
Docket01-25-00811-CR
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Opinion issued August 27, 2026
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-25-00811-CR
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LUIS ALBERTO NOLASCO, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 230th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 1848530
MEMORANDUM OPINION
A jury convicted Luis Alberto Nolasco of continuous sexual abuse of a child
and assessed a punishment of life in prison. 1 Nolasco appealed.
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1
See TEX. PENAL CODE § 21.02.
Nolasco’s appointed counsel has now filed a motion to withdraw, along with
an Anders brief, stating that the record presents no reversible error and that the appeal
is without merit and is frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967).
Counsel states in his brief that he has thoroughly reviewed the record and is
unable to advance any ground of error that warrants reversal. See id.; In re Schulman,
252 S.W.3d 403, 406–09 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008); Mitchell v. State, 193 S.W.3d 153,
155 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no pet.). Counsel’s brief meets the
Anders requirements because it presents a professional evaluation of the record and
supplies this Court with references to the record and legal authority. See Anders, 386
U.S. at 744; see also High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978).
Further, Nolasco’s counsel informed this Court that he mailed a copy of the
motion to withdraw and Anders brief to Nolasco and informed him of his right to
access the appellate record and file a pro se response. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d
313, 319–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); In re Schulman, 252 S.W.3d at 408–09. 2 1F
Nolasco did not file a pro se response to the Anders brief.
The State filed a waiver of its right to file a response to the Anders brief.
We have independently reviewed the entire record in this appeal. See Mitchell,
193 S.W.3d at 155. And we conclude that no reversible error exists in the record,
2
Subsequently, this Court also notified Nolasco at his last known address of his right
to access the record and file a response and provided a form motion to access the
record. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 321–22 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014).
2
that there are no arguable grounds for review, and that the appeal is frivolous. See
Anders, 386 U.S. at 744 (emphasizing that reviewing court—and not counsel—
determines, after full examination of proceedings, whether appeal is wholly
frivolous); Garner v. State, 300 S.W.3d 763, 767 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009); Bledsoe
v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court and grant counsel’s motion
to withdraw. 3 See TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(a). Attorney James F. Pons must immediately
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send the required notice and file a copy of that notice with the Clerk of this Court.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5(c). We dismiss any other pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Chief Justice Adams and Justices Guiney and Morgan.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
3
Appointed counsel still has a duty to inform Nolasco of the result of this appeal and
that he may, on his own, pursue discretionary review in the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). An
appellant may challenge a holding that there are no arguable grounds for appeal by
filing a petition for discretionary review. See id. at 827 & n.6.
3