NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 09-3938
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
DONALD LAMAR BURROUGHS,
Appellant
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Criminal No. 1-08-cr-00435-002)
District Judge: Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
June 22, 2010
BEFORE: SMITH, FISHER, and COWEN, Circuit Judges
(Filed: July 13, 2010)
OPINION
COWEN, Circuit Judge
Donald Lamar Burroughs has appealed his sentence and his counsel has moved,
pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), for permission to withdraw as
counsel. We will affirm Burroughs’ sentence and grant the motion of counsel.
I. BACKGROUND
Burroughs pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent
to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1),
841(b)(1)(A)(iii), and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The PSR recommended an advisory guidelines
range of 87-108 months of imprisonment. Burroughs filed objections and the District
Court held a sentencing hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the District Court
sentenced Burroughs to a term of imprisonment of fifty months. In reaching this
sentence, the District Court sustained Burroughs’ objection to a two-level enhancement
for possession of a dangerous weapon (U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1)), granted Burroughs’
request for “safety valve” protection, granted a downward variance based on the
government’s acknowledgment of Burroughs’ substantial assistance as set forth in its
5K1.1 letter, and granted a downward departure based on the crack cocaine-powder
cocaine disparity.
II. DISCUSSION
Burroughs’ counsel petitions this Court to withdraw as attorney of record, arguing
that there are no non-frivolous issues that can be advanced on appeal. Counsel provided
a copy of his brief to Burroughs and we gave Burroughs thirty days to file a brief on his
behalf. Burroughs has not filed anything with this Court.
We engage in a two-step inquiry when evaluating an Anders brief. First, we
determine whether counsel thoroughly examined the record for appealable issues and
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adequately explained why any such issues are frivolous. Second, we conduct an
independent review of the record to determine whether there are any non-frivolous
issues. See, e.g., United States v. Youla, 241 F.3d 296, 300 (3d Cir. 2001). Counsel
reviewed the record and concluded that there were no appealable issues with respect to
the reasonableness of the sentence. Indeed, counsel noted that Burroughs prevailed on
each of his objections and requests with respect to sentencing, which resulted in a
significantly lower sentence that was below the advisory guidelines range. Likewise, our
independent review of the record indicates that there are no non-frivolous issues for
appeal. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Burroughs to a
below the guidelines sentence.
III. CONCLUSION
We will affirm the judgment of September 30, 2009, and grant the motion for
counsel to withdraw.
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