TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Identity of Parties and Counsel
3. Table of Authorities
4. Statement of the Case
5. Issues Presented
6. Statement of Facts
7. Summary of the Argument
8. Argument
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Certificate of Service
11. Certificate of Compliance
12. Appendix

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE [________________________________] DISTRICT OF TEXAS

AT [________________________________]

APPELLANT'S BRIEF

Attorney for Appellant:

[________________________________]
State Bar No. [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Texas [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Facsimile: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL

Appellant:
[DEFENDANT/APPELLANT FULL LEGAL NAME]
[________________________________]

Appellate Counsel for Appellant:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Trial Counsel for Appellant:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Appellee:
The State of Texas

Trial Counsel for the State:
[________________________________]
[________________________________] County District Attorney's Office
[________________________________]

Appellate Counsel for the State:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant, [DEFENDANT/APPELLANT FULL LEGAL NAME], was charged by ☐ indictment / ☐ information in the [________________________________] District Court of [________________________________] County, Texas, with the offense of [________________________________], a [________________________________] degree felony, in violation of Texas Penal Code section [________________________________].

On [__/__/____], the case was tried before a ☐ jury / ☐ the court. The ☐ jury / ☐ court found Appellant ☐ guilty / ☐ not guilty of [________________________________].

Punishment was assessed by the ☐ jury / ☐ court at [________________________________].

Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____]. (CR [____].)

☐ Appellant filed a motion for new trial on [__/__/____], which was ☐ granted / ☐ denied / ☐ overruled by operation of law.

ISSUES PRESENTED

Issue One: Whether the trial court erred in [________________________________].

Issue Two: Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support the conviction for [________________________________].

Issue Three: Whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by [________________________________].

Issue Four: [________________________________]

STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Guilt-Innocence Phase

[________________________________]

(RR Vol. [____], p. [____].)

B. Punishment Phase

[________________________________]

(RR Vol. [____], p. [____].)

SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

[________________________________]

ARGUMENT

ISSUE ONE: [HEADING IN CAPS]

A. Standard of Review

☐ De novo review applies to questions of law. (State v. Gonzalez, 855 S.W.2d 692, 694 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to the trial court's evidentiary and procedural rulings. (Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990).)

☐ Legal sufficiency standard requires the reviewing court to view all evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. (Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979).)

☐ Strickland two-prong test applies to ineffective-assistance claims: deficient performance and prejudice. (Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984); Thompson v. State, 9 S.W.3d 808 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999).)

B. Argument and Authorities

[________________________________]

(RR Vol. [____], p. [____]; CR [____].)

C. Harm Analysis

☐ Constitutional error: Under Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(a), the error requires reversal unless the court determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the conviction or punishment.

☐ Non-constitutional error: Under Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b), the error must be disregarded unless it affected the appellant's substantial rights.

[________________________________]

ISSUE TWO: [HEADING IN CAPS]

A. Standard of Review

[________________________________]

B. Argument and Authorities

[________________________________]

C. Harm Analysis

[________________________________]

ISSUE THREE: [HEADING IN CAPS]

[________________________________]

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Appellant respectfully prays that this Honorable Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction and render a judgment of acquittal.
☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction and remand for a new trial.
☐ Reform the judgment to reflect [________________________________].
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for a new punishment hearing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
State Bar No. [________________________________]
Attorney for Appellant

Date: [__/__/____]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a true and correct copy of this Appellant's Brief was served on the following on [__/__/____] by:

☐ Certified mail, return receipt requested
☐ Electronic service via eFileTexas.gov
☐ Hand delivery
☐ First-class mail

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.4(i)(3), I certify that this brief contains [________________________________] words, as measured by the word-count function of [________________________________]. This brief complies with the word-count limitation of 15,000 words for an appellant's brief.

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

Date: [__/__/____]

APPENDIX

☐ Tab A: Judgment of Conviction
☐ Tab B: Jury Charge and Verdict
☐ Tab C: Indictment / Information
☐ Tab D: Relevant Statutes
☐ Tab E: [________________________________]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR TEXAS

1. Notice of Appeal: Must be filed within 30 days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended in open court, or within 90 days if a motion for new trial is timely filed. (Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a).)

2. Word Limit: 15,000 words for the appellant's and appellee's brief; 7,500 words for reply briefs. (Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(i)(2)(B)-(C).)

3. Font Requirements: 14-point body text; 12-point footnotes. (Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(e).)

4. Filing Deadline: Appellant's brief is due 30 days after the later of: the filing of the clerk's record or the reporter's record. (Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(a).)

5. Anders Brief: If appointed counsel finds no arguable issues, an Anders brief must be filed referencing anything in the record that might support the appeal. The court must independently examine the record. (Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); Gainous v. State, 436 S.W.2d 137 (Tex. Crim. App. 1969).)

6. Motion for New Trial: Must be filed within 30 days after the date sentence is imposed or suspended in open court. (Tex. R. App. P. 21.4.)

7. Plea Bargain Appeals: A defendant who enters a guilty plea as part of a plea bargain may only appeal matters raised by written motion and ruled on before trial, or with the trial court's permission, or where the punishment assessed exceeds the agreed recommendation. (Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2).)

8. Court of Criminal Appeals Discretionary Review: After decision by the Court of Appeals, a petition for discretionary review to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals must be filed within 30 days. (Tex. R. App. P. 68.2(a).)