People v. Sanders

*799“The filing of a sufficient Anders brief is essential to ensuring that an indigent party’s rights are protected. Requiring counsel to submit a brief referring to anything in the record that might support the appeal ensures that assigned counsel acted as an advocate, rather than as a mere advisor to the court on the merits of the appeal” (Matter of Giovanni S. [Jasmin A.], 89 AD3d 252, 256 [2011]; see Anders v California, 386 US 738, 744 [1967]). Here, the submitted Anders brief was deficient, as assigned counsel did not perform the role of a zealous advocate by identifying possible issues for…