In The Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-20-00065-CR

BRIAN KEITH WOODS, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 71st District Court Harrison County, Texas Trial Court No. 18-0272X

Before Morriss, C.J., Burgess and Stevens, JJ.

ORDER Attorney Kimberly Miller Ryan was appointed to represent Appellant Brian Keith Woods in the appeal of this matter. Ryan filed an Anders1 brief on Woods’s behalf and, in conjunction with the filing of that brief, has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel. Currently pending before this Court is a motion to substitute counsel filed by attorney Niles Illich. Illich represents in his motion that he has been retained to represent Woods on appeal and asks that he be substituted for Ryan as counsel of record in this matter. For the reasons set forth below, we have considered and hereby grant Illich’s motion.

When an appellant who is represented on appeal by counsel later retains different counsel, Rule 6.5(d) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure establishes the proper procedure for accomplishing the withdrawal and substitution. TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5(d). Under Rule 6.5, counsel of record—Ryan in this case—is required to file a motion to withdraw before newly retained counsel may be substituted. Id. The Seventh Court of Appeals has aptly noted, “The purpose of Rule 6.5 is to ensure that a party not be unwittingly left unrepresented before an appellate court.” Medlock v. State, No. 07-15-00359-CR, 2015 WL 6939196 (Tex. App.— Amarillo Nov. 9, 2015, order) (per curiam) (discussing procedure established by Rule 6.5 of Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure for withdrawing and substituting counsel on appeal).

In this unique situation, Ryan has previously filed a motion to withdraw as counsel in conjunction with the filing of her Anders brief. We have reviewed the circumstances as represented in Illich’s motion to substitute counsel and are comfortable that Woods has received

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). the protection that Rule 6.5 was meant to provide. Further, Woods is free to retain counsel of his choosing. We, therefore, in the interests of justice and judicial economy, (1) grant Ryan’s motion to withdraw as counsel and (2) grant the motion to substitute Illich for Ryan as attorney of record in this appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 6.5.

Illich is now appellate counsel in this matter. As such, we grant Illich’s request to strike the Anders brief filed on Woods’s behalf in order that he may file a merit-based brief in its stead.

That brief shall be filed in this Court on or before October 15, 2020. We deny, as moot, Woods’s motion to extend the deadline for filing a response to Ryan’s Anders brief.

IT IS SO ORDRED.

BY THE COURT

Date: September 15, 2020