## IN THE COURT O F CRIMINA L A PPEA LS

OF TEXA S

N O S

. W R

- 7 9

, 4 9 7

- 0 5 & W R

- 7 9

, 4 9 7

- 0 6

E X P A R T E K E I T H T A Y L O R

, A p p l i c a n t

O N A P P L I C A T I O N S F O R W R I T O F H A B E A S C O R P U S

C A U S E N O S

. D

- 1

- D C

- 1 1

- 3 0 0 1 4 4

- C & D

- 1

- D C

- 1 2

- 9 0 4 0 2 8

- C

I N T H E 3 9 0 D I S T R I C T C O U R T F R O M T R A V I S C O U N T Y

T H

A L C A L A

, J

. , f

i l e d a d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n

.

D I S S E N T I N G O P I N I O N

T h i s i s a n o t h e r c l a i m o f i n e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l a d d r e s s e d b y t h i s C o u r t

b a s e d o n p l e a d i n g s t h a t h a v e b e e n p r e s e n t e d b y a p r o s e l i t i g a n t

. T h i s C o u r t ’ s j u d g m e n t

d e n i e s p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s r e l i e f i n t h i s c a s e

. I n s t e a d

, I w o u l d r e m a n d t h i s c a s e t o t h e

h a b e a s c o u r t f

o r t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e

, p e r m i t c o u n s e l t o

a m e n d a p p l i c a n t ’ s i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s

- c l a i m p l e a d i n g s

, a n d d e c i d e t h e u l t i m a t e m e r i t s o f

a p p l i c a n t ’ s c l a i m a f

t e r t h o s e e v e n t s

. I

, t h e r e f o r e

, r e s p e c t f

u l l y d i s s e n t f

r o m t h i s C o u r t ’ s

j u d g m e n t t h a t s u m m a r i l y d e n i e s r e l i e f i n t h i s c a s e

.

I n m y d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n i n E x p a r t e G a r c i a

, I h i g h l i g h t e d w h a t I v i e w a s a n o n g o i n gTay lor - 2

a n d w i d e s p r e a d p r o b l e m r e g a r d i n g t h e a b s e n c e o f a p p o i n t e d h a b e a s c o u n s e l t o a s s i s t i n d i g e n t

a p p l i c a n t s i n p u r s u i n g t h e i r c o l o r a b l e i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m s

. S e e E x p a r t e G a r c i a

,

N o

. W R

- 8 3

, 6 8 1

- 0 1

, 2 0 1 6 W L 1 3 5 8 9 4 7 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. A p r

. 6

, 2 0 1 6 ) ( A l c a l a

, J

. ,

d i s s e n t i n g )

. I e x p l a i n e d t h a t

, i n m a n y c a s e s

, t h e f i r s t o p p o r t u n i t y f

o r a d e f e n d a n t t o c h a l l e n g e

t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f h i s a t t o r n e y a r i s e s i n a p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s p r o c e e d i n g

, b u t

, a t t h a t

p r o c e d u r a l j u n c t u r e

, a n i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t h a s n o e s t a b l i s h e d c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r i g h t t o a p p o i n t e d

c o u n s e l

. S e e i d

. , s l i p o p

. a t 2

. G i v e n t h a t m a n y i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t s m u s t p r o c e e d p r o s e o n

h a b e a s

, I o b s e r v e d t h a t c l a i m s o f i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s

, e v e n t h o s e t h a t h a v e m e r i t

, “ w i l l a l m o s t

a l w a y s f a i l b e c a u s e t h e p r o s e a p p l i c a n t i s u n a w a r e o f t h e l e g a l s t a n d a r d a n d e v i d e n t i a r y

r e q u i r e m e n t s n e c e s s a r y t o e s t a b l i s h h i s c l a i m

. ” I d

.

M y d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n i n G a r c i a m e r e l y r e c o g n i z e d t h e p r o b l e m t h a t h a d a l r e a d y b e e n

h i g h l i g h t e d b y t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t i n M a r t i n e z v

. R y a n

, i n w h i c h i t s t a t e d

,

C l a i m s o f i n e f

f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e a t t r i a l o f t e n r e q u i r e i n v e s t i g a t i v e w o r k a n d a n

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t r i a l s t r a t e g y

. W h e n t h e i s s u e c a n n o t b e r a i s e d o n d i r e c t

r e v i e w

, m o r e o v e r

, a p r i s o n e r a s s e r t i n g [ s u c h a ] c l a i m i n a n i n i t i a l

- r e v i e w

c o l l a t e r a l p r o c e e d i n g c a n n o t r e l y o n a c o u r t o p i n i o n o r t h e p r i o r w o r k o f a n

a t t o r n e y a d d r e s s i n g t h a t c l a i m

.

M a r t i n e z v

. R

y a n

, 1 3 2 S

. C t

. 1 3 0 9

, 1 3 1 7 ( 2 0 1 2 )

. I n a d d i t i o n

, t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t n o t e d t h a t

p r i s o n e r s “ u n l e a r n e d i n t h e l a w ” m a y n o t “ c o m p l y w i t h t h e S t a t e ’ s p r o c e d u r a l r u l e s o r m a y

m i s a p p r e h e n d t h e s u b s t a n t i v e d e t a i l s o f f e d e r a l c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l a w

. ” I d

. M o r e o v e r

, i t

o b s e r v e d t h a t p r i s o n e r s

, w h i l e c o n f i n e d t o p r i s o n

, a r e “ i n n o p o s i t i o n t o d e v e l o p t h e

e v i d e n t i a r y b a s i s f

o r a c l a i m o f i n e f

f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e

, w h i c h o f t e n t u r n s o n e v i d e n c e o u t s i d eTay lor - 3

t h e t r i a l r e c o r d

. ” I

d

. I n l i g h t o f a l l t h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s

, t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t c o n c l u d e d t h a t

,

i n o r d e r t o p r e s e n t a n i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e S t a t e ’ s p r o c e d u r e s

,

“ a p r i s o n e r l i k e l y n e e d s a n e f f e c t i v e a t t o r n e y

. ” I

d

. W i t h o u t t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f e f f e c t i v e

a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l i n a h a b e a s p r o c e e d i n g

, t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t r e c o g n i z e d t h a t s u c h a

p r o c e e d i n g m a y n o t b e “ s u f f i c i e n t t o e n s u r e t h a t p r o p e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n [ i s ] g i v e n t o a

s u b s t a n t i a l c l a i m

. ” I

d

. a t 1 3 1 8

. T h i s

, i t e x p l a i n e d

, w a s o f p a r t i c u l a r c o n c e r n

, g i v e n t h a t t h e

r i g h t a t s t a k e

, t h e r i g h t t o t h e e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l

, i s a “ b e d r o c k p r i n c i p l e i n o u r

j u s t i c e s y s t e m

, ” w i t h o u t w h i c h t h e v e r y f a i r n e s s a n d a c c u r a c y o f t h e u n d e r l y i n g c r i m i n a l

p r o c e e d i n g c a n n o t b e g u a r a n t e e d

. I d

. a t 1 3 1 7

.

I n G a r c i a

, I u r g e d t h i s C o u r t t o t a k e s t e p s t o w a r d s r e m e d y i n g t h i s p r o b l e m t h r o u g h

t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l f o r i n d i g e n t a p p l i c a n t s w h o h a v e c o l o r a b l e i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e

c l a i m s

. G a r c i a

, 2 0 1 6 W L 1 3 5 8 9 4 7

, s l i p o p

. a t 2 1

. I o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e s t a t u t o r y b a s i s f o r

a p p o i n t i n g c o u n s e l u n d e r t h o s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s a l r e a d y e x i s t s i n T e x a s

. I n p a r t i c u l a r

, I n o t e d

t h a t A r t i c l e 1

. 0 5 1 o f t h e T e x a s C o d e o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e e n t i t l e s a n i n d i g e n t h a b e a s

a p p l i c a n t t o a p p o i n t e d p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n c o u n s e l w h e n e v e r t h e h a b e a s c o u r t d e t e r m i n e s t h a t

“ t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e r e q u i r e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n

. ” I d

. ( q u o t i n g T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

.

1

. 0 5 1 ( d ) )

. B a s e d o n t h a t s t a t u t o r y a u t h o r i t y

, I s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i s C o u r t s h o u l d r e m a n d a n y

p r o s e h a b e a s a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e h a b e a s c o u r t f o r a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f

j u s t i c e w h e n “ e i t h e r t h e p l e a d i n g s o r t h e f a c e o f t h e r e c o r d g i v e s r i s e t o a c o l o r a b l e

,

n o n f r i v o l o u s [ i n e f

f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e ] c l a i m

. ” S e e i d

. I e x p l a i n e d t h a t s u c h a c o u r s e w o u l dTay lor - 4

f u r t h e r t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e b y e n s u r i n g t h a t s u b s t a n t i a l c l a i m s o f i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s w e r e

g i v e n f u l l a n d f a i r c o n s i d e r a t i o n b y t h i s C o u r t o n p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n r e v i e w

, t h e r e b y r e d u c i n g

t h e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t v i o l a t i o n s o f d e f e n d a n t s ’ b e d r o c k S i x t h A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s w o u l d g o

u n r e m e d i e d

. I

d

. , s l i p o p

. a t 1 6

, 3 0

. 1

H e r e

, i n m a k i n g m y d e t e r m i n a t i o n t h a t a p p l i c a n t m a y h a v e a c o l o r a b l e i n e f f e c t i v e

a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m t h a t r e q u i r e s t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f h a b e a s c o u n s e l i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e

,

Perhaps it could be arg ued that, beca use there is no established constitutional rig ht to habea s 1

counsel, this Court should ne ver rema nd for the appointment of counsel in the interests of justice.

But this sug g estion would seriously misunderstand the nature of the complaint befor e us. Her e, the

issue is the rig ht to eff

ective trial counsel and the sy stematic failure in Texas to provide an adequate

vehicle to ensure that rig ht. Direc t appea l, when an indige nt defe ndant has an ab s o l u te rig ht to

appoint ed counsel, fails to adequa tely protec t the rig ht to eff ective trial counsel beca

use most

ineffe ctive-a ssistance claims require evidenc e outside the rec ord, and the seventy -five- day window

of time for resolving a motion for new trial is usually inadequa te for that proces s. See Trevino v.

Thaler

, 133 S. Ct. 1911, 1915 (2013) (obser ving that the “structur e and desig n of the Texas sy stem[,]

in actua l opera tion, [ ] make it virtually impossibl e for an ineffe ctive assistance claim to be prese nted

on direc t revie w”) (citations omitted). And habea s-cor pus revie w, when an indige nt defe ndant has

no absolute rig ht to appointed counsel, simil arly fails to adequately protec t the rig ht to eff ective trial

counsel beca

use counsel is usually neede d to proper ly litigate i n ef fe cti ve-a ssistance claims. See

Martinez v. Ryan

, 132 S. Ct. 1309, 1317-18 (2012) (obser ving that, to adequately prese nt an

ineffe ctive-a ssistance claim, a prisoner “likely needs an eff ective attorney ”; without the assistance

of counsel on post-conviction revie w, a prisoner’ s ability to prese nt an ineffe ctive-a ssistance claim

is “sig nificantly diminis he[d] ”). Thus, unles s indige nt applicants are aff orded the assistance of

appointed habea s counsel to raise their substantial ineffe ctiveness claims, Texas essentially has no

adequate vehicle for defe ndants to litigate that issue. The char acte rization of the L egi s l at u re’ s

authorization of appointed habea s counsel in the interests of justice as a mere act of leg islative g rac e

fails to acknow ledg e the rea lity that, without some means of app o i n ting habea s counsel in this

limit ed ar ea of ineffe ctive-a ssistance-of -counse l challeng es, Texas’s sy stem fails to ensure that

defe ndants’ Six th Amendment rig hts are protec ted and thus raises the possibili ty of a constitutional

violation on that basis. See id. at 1315 (noting that it is an open question of constitutional law

“whe ther a prisoner has a rig ht to eff ective counsel in collater al proce eding s which provide the first

occa sion to raise a c laim of ineff ective a ssistance a t trial”; the Constitut ion “may require States to

provide c ounsel in initi al-re view collate ral proc eeding s beca use ‘in these c ases . . . state collater al

revie w is the first place a prisoner can prese nt a[n ineffe ctiveness] challeng e to his conviction,’” thus

making the collater al proce eding his “‘one and only appea l’ as to an ineffe ctive-a ssistance claim”)

(quoting Coleman v. Thompson , 501 U.S. 722, 755-56 (1991))

.Tay lor - 5

I h a v e ( 1 ) l i b e r a l l y c o n s t r u e d a p p l i c a n t ’ s p l e a d i n g s t h a t c o m p l a i n e d o f i n e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e

o f c o u n s e l

, a n d ( 2 ) e x a m i n e d a p p l i c a n t ’ s c o m p l a i n t s f o r s u b s t a n t i v e m e r i t r a t h e r t h a n f o r

t e c h n i c a l p r o c e d u r a l c o m p l i a n c e

. T h i s l i b e r a l a p p r o a c h t o c o n s t r u i n g t h e p l e a d i n g s i s f i r m l y

r e c o g n i z e d a s a p p r o p r i a t e i n l i g h t o f a p p l i c a n t ’ s s t a t u s a s a p r o s e l i t i g a n t

. S e e E s t e l l e v

.

G a m b l e

, 4 2 9 U

. S

. 9 7

, 1 0 6 ( 1 9 7 6 ) ( p r o s e c o m p l a i n t “ i s t o b e l i b e r a l l y c o n s t r u e d ” ) ; H a i n e s

v

. K e r n e r

, 4 0 4 U

. S

. 5 1 9

, 5 2 0

- 2 1 ( 1 9 7 2 ) ( p e r c u r i a m ) ( a p r o s e i n m a t e ’ s p e t i t i o n s h o u l d b e

v i e w e d l i b e r a l l y a n d i s n o t h e l d t o t h e s t r i n g e n t s t a n d a r d s a p p l i e d t o f o r m a l p l e a d i n g s d r a f

t e d

b y a t t o r n e y s ) ; s e e a l

s o He r n a n d e z v

. T

h a l e r

, 6 3 0 F

. 3 d 4 2 0

, 4 2 6

- 2 7 ( 5 t h C i r

. 2 0 1 1 ) ( f i l i n g s

b y h a b e a s p e t i t i o n e r s a r e “ e n t i t l e d t o t h e b e n e f i t o f l i b e r a l c o n s t r u c t i o n ” ) ; B r o w n v

. R o e

, 2 7 9

F

. 3 d 7 4 2

, 7 4 6 ( 9 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 2 ) ( “ P r o s e h a b e a s p e t i t i o n e r s a r e t o b e a f f o r d e d t h e b e n e f

i t o f a n y

d o u b t

. ” ) ( c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d )

. T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s T e n t h C i r c u i t C o u r t o f A p p e a l s h a s s t a t e d

,

T h e m a n d a t e d l i b e r a l c o n s t r u c t i o n a f f o r d e d t o p r o s e p l e a d i n g s “ m e a n s t h a t i f

t h e c o u r t c a n r e a s o n a b l y r e a d t h e p l e a d i n g s t o s t a t e a v a l i d c l a i m o n w h i c h t h e

[ p e t i t i o n e r ] c o u l d p r e v a i l

, i t s h o u l d d o s o d e s p i t e t h e [ p e t i t i o n e r ’ s ] f a i l u r e t o

c i t e p r o p e r l e g a l a u t h o r i t y

, h i s c o n f u s i o n o f v a r i o u s l e g a l t h e o r i e s

, h i s p o o r

s y n t a x a n d s e n t e n c e c o n s t r u c t i o n

, o r h i s u n f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h p l e a d i n g

r e q u i r e m e n t s

. ”

B a r n e t t v

. H

a r g e t t

, 1 7 4 F

. 3 d 1 1 2 8

, 1 1 3 3 ( 1 0 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 9 ) ( q u o t i n g H a l l v

. B e l l m o n

, 9 3 5 F

. 2 d

1 1 0 6

, 1 1 1 0 ( 1 0 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 1 ) )

. I t i s w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h i s p r a c t i c e o f l i b e r a l l y c o n s t r u i n g

p r o s e p l e a d i n g s i s a p r o p e r j u d i c i a l f u n c t i o n t h a t d o e s n o t t r a n s f o r m a j u d g e i n t o a n a d v o c a t e

f o r a h a b e a s a p p l i c a n t

. S e e i d

. ( e x p l a i n i n g t h a t

, a l t h o u g h a c o u r t “ s h o u l d n o t a s s u m e t h e r o l e

o f [ a n ] a d v o c a t e f

o r t h e p r o s e l i t i g a n t a n d m a y n o t r e w r i t e a p e t i t i o n t o i n c l u d e c l a i m s t h a t

w e r e n e v e r p r e s e n t e d

, ” a c o u r t a c t s p r o p e r l y w h e n i t “ l o o k [ s ] c a r e f u l l y a t t h e f

a c t s a n d t h eTay lor - 6

p l e a d i n g s i n a n e f

f o r t t o a s c e r t a i n w h a t o c c u r r e d i n p r i o r s t a t e p r o c e e d i n g s a n d t h e t r u e n a t u r e

o f p e t i t i o n e r ’ s c l a i m s ” )

.

I n l i g h t o f t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s

, m y r e v i e w f o r w h e t h e r a n a p p l i c a n t m a y h a v e a c o l o r a b l e

c l a i m t h a t w o u l d j u s t i f

y t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e d o e s n o t c a l l

u p o n t h i s C o u r t o r t h e h a b e a s c o u r t t o m a k e l e g a l a r g u m e n t s f o r a n a p p l i c a n t

, n o r d o e s i t

r e q u i r e a n y c o u r t t o b e c o m e a n a d v o c a t e f o r h i m

. R a t h e r

, b y l i b e r a l l y r e a d i n g t h e p r o s e

p l e a d i n g s a n d e x a m i n i n g t h e f a c e o f t h e r e c o r d t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l i s

r e q u i r e d u n d e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s i n o r d e r t o e n s u r e t h a t a n a p p l i c a n t ’ s c l a i m s a r e g i v e n

m e a n i n g f

u l c o n s i d e r a t i o n

, I a m m e r e l y a d h e r i n g t o m y j u d i c i a l d u t i e s t o a f f o r d p r o s e

l i t i g a n t s w i d e l a t i t u d e i n p l e a d i n g t h e i r c l a i m s a n d t o u p h o l d t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e C o d e

o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e t h a t e n t i t l e a p p l i c a n t s t o a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l w h e n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f

j u s t i c e r e q u i r e i t

.

I f u r t h e r n o t e t h a t m y p r o p o s e d a p p r o a c h t h a t l i b e r a l l y e x a m i n e s t h e p l e a d i n g s a n d

i n d e p e n d e n t l y r e v i e w s t h e a v a i l a b l e r e c o r d i s a m i l d h o u s e

- c a t w h e n c o m p a r e d t o t h e l i o n ’ s

s h a r e o f t h e m u c h m o r e b u r d e n s o m e i n d e p e n d e n t j u d i c i a l r e v i e w o f t h e r e c o r d t h a t h a s b e e n

a p p r o v e d o f a n d c o n d u c t e d i n T e x a s s t a t e c o u r t s f o r a l m o s t f

i v e d e c a d e s i n A n d e r s c a s e s

. S e e

A n d e r s v

. C a l i

f o r n i a

, 3 8 6 U

. S

. 7 3 8

, 7 4 4

- 4 5 ( 1 9 6 7 ) ( r e q u i r i n g a p p e l l a t e c o u r t s t o c o n d u c t “ a

f u l l e x a m i n a t i o n o f a l l t h e p r o c e e d i n g s [ ] t o d e c i d e w h e t h e r t h e c a s e i s w h o l l y f r i v o l o u s

, ” a n d

s t a t i n g t h a t a n a p p e l l a t e c o u r t m u s t “ p u r s u e a l l t h e m o r e v i g o r o u s l y i t s o w n r e v i e w ” ) ; S t a f f o r d

v

. S t a t e

, 8 1 3 S

. W

. 2 d 5 0 3

, 5 0 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 1 )

. I n A n d e r s c a s e s

, t h i s C o u r t r e q u i r e sTay lor - 7

a p p e l l a t e j u d g e s t o i n d e p e n d e n t l y r e v i e w t h e r e c o r d f o r a n y a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s f o r a p p e a l

w h e n a n a p p o i n t e d a t t o r n e y h a s f i l e d a b r i e f a s s e r t i n g t h a t t h e r e a r e n o a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s

, a n d

i f t h e j u d g e s ’ i n d e p e n d e n t r e v i e w o f t h e r e c o r d r e v e a l s t h a t t h e r e a r e a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s f o r

a p p e a l

, t h e n t h e a p p e l l a t e c o u r t m u s t r e m a n d t h e c a s e t o t h e t r i a l c o u r t f o r t h e a p p o i n t m e n t

o f n e w a p p e l l a t e c o u n s e l

. S e e S t a f f o r d

, 8 1 3 S

. W

. 2 d a t 5 1 1 ( u n d e r A n d e r s

, “ a f t e r r e c e i v i n g

a b r i e f c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e r e a r e n o a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s f o r a p p e a l

, t h e r e v i e w i n g c o u r t m u s t

r e v i e w t h e r e c o r d t o m a k e a n i n d e p e n d e n t d e t e r m i n a t i o n ” )

. A j u d g e ’ s v i g o r o u s i n d e p e n d e n t

r e v i e w f o r a n y a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s o f a p p e a l i n a n A n d e r s c a s e i s r e q u i r e d t o e n s u r e t h a t a n

a p p o i n t e d a t t o r n e y h a s n o t e r r o n e o u s l y a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e n o a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s f o r a p p e a l

.

S e e i d

. B y r e q u i r i n g t h a t j u d g e s v i g o r o u s l y a n d i n d e p e n d e n t l y r e v i e w t h e r e c o r d f o r a n y

a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s o f a p p e a l i n a n A n d e r s c a s e

, t h i s C o u r t h a s e s s e n t i a l l y a l r e a d y h e l d t h a t t h i s

t y p e o f r e v i e w d o e s n o t t r a n s f

o r m a j u d g e i n t o a n a d v o c a t e f o r a p a r t y

, a n d t h a t i n s t e a d t h i s

i s a r e v i e w t h a t h o n o r s a j u d g e ’ s o a t h t o p r e s e r v e

, p r o t e c t

, a n d d e f e n d t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d

l a w s o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d o f t h i s s t a t e

. A n d

, a l t h o u g h i n A n d e r s c a s e s a n a p p e l l a t e j u d g e

c a r r i e s a h e a v y b u r d e n t o e x a m i n e t h e e n t i r e r e c o r d f o r a n y a r g u a b l e g r o u n d s f o r a p p e a l o n

a n y o f t h e n u m e r o u s p o s s i b l e s u b j e c t s t h a t c o u l d b e a b a s i s f o r a p p e a l

, i n c o n t r a s t

, i n m y

p r o p o s e d a p p r o a c h t o p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c a s e s

, a n a p p e l l a t e j u d g e b e a r s a m u c h l i g h t e r

b u r d e n t o l i b e r a l l y e x a m i n e t h e s u b s t a n c e o f t h e c o m p l a i n t s i n a p r o s e a p p l i c a n t ’ s p l e a d i n g s

a n d t o r e v i e w t h e a v a i l a b l e r e c o r d t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h o s e c o m p l a i n t s a r e a r g u a b l yTay lor - 8

m e r i t o r i o u s

, a n d t h e n o n l y a s t o c l a i m s o f i n e f f e c t i v e a s s i s t a n c e o f c o u n s e l

. I h a v e n e v e r 2

s u g g e s t e d t h a t

, i n c o n d u c t i n g t h i s r e v i e w

, a j u d g e s h o u l d b e a n a d v o c a t e f o r a n a p p l i c a n t o r

t h a t a j u d g e m u s t e x h a u s t i v e l y s c o u r t h e r e c o r d f o r a n y p o s s i b l e c l a i m s

, a n d s u c h a n

a s p e r s i o n w o u l d u n f

a i r l y o v e r s i m p l i f

y a n d m i s c h a r a c t e r i z e m y p o s i t i o n

.

A p p l y i n g t h e f

o r e g o i n g p r i n c i p l e s h e r e

, I w o u l d h o l d t h a t a p p l i c a n t ’ s p l e a d i n g s a r e

a d e q u a t e t o g i v e r i s e t o a c o l o r a b l e i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m s o a s t o w a r r a n t t h e

a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e

. B e c a u s e h e i s p r o s e

, a p p l i c a n t s h o u l d n o t

b e f a u l t e d f o r f a i l i n g t o m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y p l e a d o r p r o v e t h e a l l e g a t i o n s i n h i s a p p l i c a t i o n

.

S e e E s t e l l e

, 4 2 9 U

. S

. a t 1 0 6 ( “ a p r o s e c o m p l a i n t

, h o w e v e r i n a r t f u l l y p l e a d e d

, m u s t b e h e l d

t o l e s s s t r i n g e n t s t a n d a r d s t h a n f o r m a l p l e a d i n g s d r a f

t e d b y l a w y e r s a n d c a n o n l y b e

d i s m i s s e d f

o r f a i l u r e t o s t a t e a c l a i m i f i t a p p e a r s b e y o n d d o u b t t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f c a n p r o v e

n o s e t o f f

a c t s i n s u p p o r t o f h i s c l a i m w h i c h w o u l d e n t i t l e h i m t o r e l i e f ” ) ( c i t a t i o n s o m i t t e d )

.

I n o t e t h a t

, i f a p p l i c a n t i s d e p r i v e d o f t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o f a c t u a l l y a n d l e g a l l y d e v e l o p h i s

Of course

, Anders case s are d i ff er en t in the sense that an indige nt defe ndant has a 2

constitutional rig ht to eff

ective appointed counsel at the direc t-appe al stag e, wher eas there is no such

rig ht, as y et, to eff

ective appointed counsel at the habea s stag e, but that would be a far too simpli stic

rationale for disreg arding the independe nt-revie w analy sis he re. As the Supreme Court ha s noted,

the right at s take here is the right to effe ctive trial c ounsel rathe r than the right to eff ective habea s

counsel. See Martinez

, 132 S. Ct. at 1318. Fur thermore

, as the Supreme Court has observe d, the first

time that a defe ndant in Texas likely can challeng e the eff ectivene ss of his t ri al at t orney is in his

initial h abeas proce eding

, thus making that proce eding more li ke a direc t appea l as t o the i ssue of

ineffe ctive assistance of counsel. See Trevino

, 133 S. Ct. at 1915; see also M artinez

, 132 S. Ct . at

1317 (obser

ving that, when habea s proce eding is the first opportunity t o ra i s e an ineffe ctiveness

cl ai m, that proce eding “is in many way s the equivalent of a prisoner’ s direc t appea l as t o t h e

ineffe ctive-a ssistance claim”)

. Thus, the independe nt-revie w require ment that I propose bear s more

simil arities to the Anders require ment than dissimi larities, in tha t both of them are conce rned with

whether an indige nt defe ndant has arg uable g rounds to challeng e his conviction and sentenc e as to

those matters that he has the rig ht to appeal in the f irst instance.Tay lor - 9

i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m i n t h e i n s t a n t p r o c e e d i n g

, t h e n i t i s l i k e l y t h a t h e w i l l b e u n a b l e

t o d o s o i n a n y f

u t u r e p r o c e e d i n g a s a r e s u l t o f t h e s t a t u t o r y b a r o n s u b s e q u e n t w r i t s

. S e e

T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 1 1

. 0 7

, § 4

. I n o r d e r t o a f f o r d a p p l i c a n t h i s o n e f

u l l b i t e a t t h e

a p p l e i n t h i s i n i t i a l h a b e a s p r o c e e d i n g

, a n d i n o r d e r t o e n s u r e t h a t a p p l i c a n t h a s b e e n f u l l y

a f f o r d e d h i s S i x t h A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s

, I c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e i n t e r e s t s o f j u s t i c e r e q u i r e

a p p o i n t e d c o u n s e l a n d f u r t h e r p r o c e e d i n g s u n d e r t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s

. I

, t h e r e f o r e

, w o u l d

n o t d e n y a p p l i c a n t r e l i e f a t t h i s s t a g e b u t w o u l d i n s t e a d r e m a n d t h i s c a s e t o t h e h a b e a s c o u r t

f o r a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l a n d f u r t h e r p r o c e e d i n g s a s t o h i s i n e f f e c t i v e

- a s s i s t a n c e c l a i m

.

B e c a u s e t h e C o u r t d e c l i n e s t o d o s o a n d i n s t e a d d e n i e s r e l i e f

, I r e s p e c t f

u l l y d i s s e n t

.

F i l e d : J u n e 2 2

, 2 0 1 6

D o N o t P u b l i s h