In The 

Court of Appeals 

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

________________________

No. 07-19-00149-CR 

________________________

JAMES QUINONEZ, APPELLANT 

 

V. 

 

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE 

 

 

On Appeal from the 106th District Court 

Garza County, Texas 

Trial Court No. 17-2973; Honorable Reed Filley, Presiding 

 

January 6, 2020 

 

ABATEMENT AND REMAND 

 

Before PIRTLE, PARKER and DOSS, JJ. 

Following an open plea of guilty, Appellant, James Quinonez, was convicted of 

aggravated sexual assault of a child, enhanced by two prior felonies.1 He elected to have 

a jury assess his punishment. After evidence was presented, the jury assessed 

punishment at confinement for life. In presenting this appeal, court-appointed counsel 

1 TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. §§ 22.021(a)(B), 12.42(d) (West 2019).
2

has filed an Anders2 brief indicating there was no merit to Appellant’s appeal. In response 

to counsel’s brief, Appellant has filed several pro se motions requesting appointment of 

new counsel. In this court’s review of those motions, it is apparent that Appellant’s courtappointed appellate counsel also served as his court-appointed trial counsel. For the 

reasons expressed herein, we now strike appellate counsel’s Anders brief, grant 

counsel’s motion to withdraw, and abate this appeal to the trial court for appointment of 

new counsel who can represent Appellant on appeal with a fresh perspective. See 

Chandler v. State, 988 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1999, no pet.) (concluding it 

is not appropriate for appointed appellate counsel who also served as trial counsel to file 

an Anders brief).

This court has not adopted a blanket rule that it is inappropriate for appointed 

appellate counsel who also served as trial counsel to file an Anders brief. See Hernandez 

v. State, No. 07-14-00417-CR, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 8054, at *5 n.4 (Tex. App.—

Amarillo July 30, 2015, order). In Hernandez, this court noted that an Anders brief filed 

by counsel who also served as trial counsel exacerbated counsel’s suggestion of a 

potentially arguable issue and abated the case and remanded the cause to the trial court 

for appointment of new counsel. However, in Maldonado v. State, No. 07-17-00190-CR, 

2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 9791, at *2 n.4 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Oct. 18, 2017, no pet.) (mem. 

op., not designated for publication), this court, when faced with an Anders brief filed by 

appellate counsel who also served as trial counsel, did not consider it judicially prudent 

to abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for appointment of new 

appellate counsel under the circumstances presented in that case. We did, however, 

2 Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967).
3

acknowledge that the better practice is to appoint new and independent counsel to 

represent an appellant on appeal. Id.

In this case, Appellant’s pro se filings challenge the adequacy of counsel’s advice 

and representation. Specifically, Appellant claims he was denied the effective assistance 

of counsel. Under the circumstances presented by the facts of this case, we deem it 

prudent for the trial court to appoint new counsel without a potential conflict of interest to 

independently represent Appellant on appeal. Our decision to do so in no way reflects 

an opinion on counsel’s performance in representing Appellant at trial.

On remand, the trial court is directed to appoint new counsel to represent Appellant 

in this appeal and to direct the trial court clerk to file a supplemental clerk’s record with 

the clerk of this court containing the order appointing new appellate counsel on or before 

January 31, 2020. The order shall contain the name, address, email address, phone 

number, and state bar number of newly appointed counsel. Appellant’s brief will be due 

thirty days following the appointment of new counsel. The State may file a brief in 

response within thirty days after the filing of Appellant’s brief.

It is so ordered.

Per Curiam

Do not publish.