Freeman

The Attorney General moved to strike the fourth opening brief filed by appellant’s retained counsel, Steve Pell (hereafter counsel). Alternatively, the Attorney General prays for an order that the appeal be deemed abandoned on the ground that the opening brief does not comply with the California Rules of Court (Rules). We allowed counsel four opportunities to file a brief that complies with the Rules. We grant the Attorney General’s motion to strike the fourth opening brief and take the rare step of removing counsel.

Counsel represents appellant Jeffrey Troy Freeman, presently incarcerated and serving a determinate 18-year term plus a consecutive indeterminate term of 15 years to life. We received the record on appeal in February of 2012. On May 3 and July 10, 2012, we granted the Attorney General’s motions to strike the opening briefs filed by appellant’s counsel. The briefs failed to comply with the Rules because they did not set forth comprehensible statements of the facts, issues presented, and the applicable law. (Rules 8.360(a), 8.204.) We allowed counsel a third opportunity to file an opening brief that complied with the Rules.

On August 30, 2012, counsel filed…