Could someone please send me a sample response. It's my first and it sure feels good, especially for a week long murder trial!

I'll send you two samples via e-mail, but I'll post my personal recommendations regarding Anders responses in murder and other big cases.

Two options: full brief or "letter" brief. COAs accept either type of Anders response, but given the case's significance I recommend a full (yet concise) brief.

The "full" version should address at least:
(1) legal sufficiency,
(2) correctness of the jury charge,
(3) significant, preserved evidentiary issues;
(4) accuracy of the judgment (double check every single box/line); and
(5) all issues raised in the appellant's pro se response.

These are the key areas the COA will examine when reading the record. I usually ignore voir dire & closing arguments unless there were objections, but I point out in a footnote the lack of objections during these phases so the COA justices/staff know not to spend much time reading that portion of the record.

In Anders cases, COAs are hostile to extension request from the State. Don't even ask. I try to file responses w/in 7-10 calendar days of service of the appellant's pro se response.

Good luck, and congratulations.

Read what your local court of appeals has said about this type of proceeding. My Court is looking to see if the defense attorney has shown his work and has indicated they do not consider any response of the State in performing this function. We basically file a response telling the Court we will respond if and when they order formal briefing. We typically do not receive Anders briefs after murder cases, and I would suspect that most courts of appeals to scrutinize such a case quite thoroughly. But if they find the Anders brief lacking, my Court would send it back for a do-over or appointment of new counsel.

Thanks for the assistance and words of advice. The appellate attorney is not the trial attorney -- he's an attorney who has a regular appellate practice.

I file letter waivers and haven't had to respond pro se. I'll email you the letter.

Here's an example of what I file in Collin Co.

curtis.andersresponse2.docx (28 Kb, 66 downloads)