Tiffany Rhae Whittley v. the State of Texas
Docket 09-24-00415-CR
Court of record · Indexed in NoticeRegistry archive · AI-enriched for research
- Filed
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Court
- Texas Court of Appeals, 9th District (Beaumont)
- Type
- Lead Opinion
- Case type
- Criminal Appeal
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Docket
- 09-24-00415-CR
Appeal from revocation of community supervision and imposition of a three-year prison sentence in a felony case
Summary
The Court of Appeals reviewed an appeal from the revocation of Tiffany Rhae Whittley’s community supervision for a third-degree felony conviction (intentional injury to a child). The trial court found multiple supervision violations, revoked probation, and sentenced her to three years confinement. Counsel filed an Anders brief asserting the appeal is frivolous; Whittley did not file a pro se response. The appellate court reviewed the record, found no nonfrivolous issues, corrected the trial court’s judgment to reflect the four violations actually found (a, b1, d, p), and affirmed the judgment as modified.
Issues Decided
- Whether the appeal from the revocation of community supervision presented any nonfrivolous issues under Anders.
- Whether the trial court’s judgment should be modified to accurately reflect the conditions of supervision found to be violated.
Court's Reasoning
The court conducted a full review as required when counsel files an Anders brief and concluded there were no arguable legal issues supporting reversal. The record showed the trial court had found violations and properly revoked supervision and imposed punishment. Because the written judgment misstated some violated conditions but the trial court issued a nunc pro tunc order correcting them, the appellate court modified the judgment to match the record and affirmed as modified.
Authorities Cited
- Anders v. California386 U.S. 738 (1967)
- Penson v. Ohio488 U.S. 75 (1988)
- Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(b)
Parties
- Appellant
- Tiffany Rhae Whittley
- Appellee
- The State of Texas
- Judge
- W. Scott Golemon, Chief Justice
Key Dates
- Original guilty plea/sentence suspended
- 2017-11-07
- Community supervision extended
- 2019-11-06
- Appellate submission date
- 2026-04-14
- Opinion delivered
- 2026-04-22
What You Should Do Next
- 1
Consider filing petition for discretionary review
If the appellant wishes to continue seeking relief, she should consult counsel about filing a petition for discretionary review to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals within the applicable deadline.
- 2
Request clerk's record update
Defense counsel or the appellant may request that the trial clerk ensure the clerk’s record contains the amended judgment or nunc pro tunc order reflecting the corrected violations.
- 3
Consult counsel regarding incarceration and supervision consequences
The appellant should consult counsel to understand the immediate effects of the affirmed sentence and any administrative steps or custody arrangements that follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What did the court decide?
- The court found no nonfrivolous grounds for reversing the revocation, corrected the written judgment to show the four violations actually found, and affirmed the judgment as modified.
- Who is affected by this decision?
- Appellant Tiffany Rhae Whittley is affected because her community supervision was revoked and her sentence of three years confinement was affirmed.
- What happens next?
- The modified judgment stands and Whittley may pursue further review by filing a petition for discretionary review to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
- Why was the judgment modified?
- The written judgment mistakenly listed additional violated conditions; the appellate court corrected the record consistent with the trial court’s nunc pro tunc order to accurately reflect the four violations found.
The above suggestions and answers are AI-generated for informational purposes only. They may contain errors. NoticeRegistry assumes no responsibility for their accuracy. Consult a qualified attorney before relying on them.
Full Filing Text
In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
________________
NO. 09-24-00415-CR
________________
TIFFANY RHAE WHITTLEY, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
________________________________________________________________________
On Appeal from the 258th District Court
Polk County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 25352
________________________________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Pursuant to a plea bargain agreement, Appellant Tiffany Rhae Whittley
pleaded guilty to the offense of intentional injury to a child, a third-degree
felony. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.04(f). The trial court found Whittley guilty
of the offense of intentional injury to a child. The trial court sentenced her to nine
years of confinement, assessed a $2,000 fine, assessed 200 hours of community
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supervision, required her to pay $50.00 to the Polk County Crimestoppers, Inc.,
required her pay $50.00 to Childrenz Haven within ninety days, and ordered her to
attend and complete anger management classes within ninety days. On November 7,
2017, the trial court suspended the sentence and placed Whittley on community
supervision for a period of five years. In November 2019, based on certain violations
of the conditions of her community supervision, the trial court extended Whittley’s
supervision an additional year from November 7, 2022, to November 6, 2023. See
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 42A.753.
Subsequently, the State filed multiple motions to revoke community
supervision. The State alleged that Whittley violated the terms and conditions of her
community supervision. Whittley pleaded “not true” to the alleged violations but
stipulated to violating condition “a” by being convicted of another criminal offense.
After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found multiple allegations
“true,” and that Whittley violated terms a, b1, d, and p of her community supervision.
The trial court revoked Whittley’s community supervision and assessed punishment
at three years of confinement.
Whittley’s appellate counsel filed an Anders brief presenting counsel’s
professional evaluation of the record and concludes that the appeal is frivolous.
See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex.
2
Crim. App. 1978). On June 24, 2025, after Whittley’s counsel filed the Anders brief,
we granted an extension for Whittley to file a pro se brief, but Whittley filed no
response.
Upon receiving an Anders brief, a court must conduct a full examination of
the record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous. Penson v. Ohio, 488
U.S. 75, 80 (1988) (citing Anders, 386 U.S. at 744). We have reviewed the entire
record and counsel’s brief, and subject to the modification discussed below, we agree
with counsel’s evaluation that no arguable issues support the appeal. See Bledsoe v.
State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827–28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (“Due to the nature
of Anders briefs, by indicating in the opinion that it considered the issues raised in
the briefs and reviewed the record for reversible error but found none, the court of
appeals met the requirements of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.1.”).
Therefore, we find it unnecessary to order appointment of new counsel to re-brief
the appeal. Cf. Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).
Modifying the Judgment
We have the power to reform or modify a judgment in Anders cases to address
non-reversible error and to affirm the judgment as modified. See Tex. R. App. P.
43.2(b) (allowing appellate court to modify trial court’s judgment and affirm as
modified); Bigley v. State, 865 S.W.2d 26, 27 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) (noting a court
3
of appeals may modify the lower court’s judgment by correcting or reforming
it); Bray v. State, 179 S.W.3d 725, 729 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2005, no pet.)
(exercising authority to reform judgment in Anders case and affirming trial court’s
judgment).
Here, we note that the trial court’s Judgment Revoking Community
Supervision incorrectly states that Whittley violated conditions “a, b1, d, k, l, m, p,
and q.” Subsequently, the State filed a Motion Nunc Pro Tunc, asking that the
Judgment Revoking Community Supervision be amended to reflect the correct
violations of “a, b1, d, and p.” The trial court signed an Order granting the Motion
Nunc Pro Tunc, but an amended judgment or judgment nunc pro tunc does not
appear in the clerk’s record or supplemental record. We can modify the judgment
“to make the record speak the truth.” French v. State, 830 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1992); see Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(b). Therefore, consistent with the record
in this case and the trial court’s Order granting the Motion Nunc Pro Tunc, we
modify the trial court’s Judgment Revoking Community Supervision to delete the
following conditions violated: “k,” “l,” “m,” and “q.” The judgment should now
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reflect that Whittley violated conditions “a, b1, d, and p.” We affirm the trial court’s
judgment as modified. 1
AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.
W. SCOTT GOLEMON
Chief Justice
Submitted on April 14, 2026
Opinion Delivered April 22, 2026
Do Not Publish
Before Golemon, C.J., Wright and Chambers, JJ.
1
Whittley may challenge our decision by filing a petition for discretionary
review. See Tex. R. App. P. 68.
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