United States v. Sims

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 02-5007 JAMES SIMS, a/k/a Junt, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., District Judge. (CR-02-248) Submitted: August 28, 2003 Decided: September 4, 2003 Before NIEMEYER and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL James D. Calmes, III, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. Eliz- abeth Jean Howard, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTOR- NEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. SIMS OPINION PER CURIAM: James Sims appeals his conviction and sentence on a charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute less than five grams of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2000). He was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Sims’ attorney has filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), discussing the propriety of Sims’ status as a career offender, but concluding that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal. Sims was notified of his right to file an additional brief, which he failed to do. In accordance with the requirements of Anders, we have examined the entire record and find no meritorious issues for appeal. By counsel, Sims challenged his classification as a career offender pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (2001). We have reviewed the record and conclude that Sims satisfied the criteria for enhancement under USSG § 4B1.1, as a career offender. In addition, our review of the record and transcripts in this case reveal that the district court complied fully with the mandates of Fed. R. Crim. P. 11. The record reflects that Sims’ plea was knowing and voluntarily entered into. There were no irregularities in the plea pro- cess, and we find that Sims was sentenced upon a proper application of the guidelines and consistent with statutory and constitutional law. Accordingly, we affirm Sims’ conviction and sentence. This court requires that counsel inform his client, in writing, of his right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If the client requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Coun- sel’s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on the client. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal conten- tions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED