United States v. Sims

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 97-4636 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JAMES SIMS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., District Judge. (CR-93-279) Submitted: December 30, 1997 Decided: January 15, 1998 Before HAMILTON, LUTTIG, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Benjamin T. Stepp, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. David Calhoun Stephens, Assistant United States Attorney, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: James Sims appeals the district court's revocation of his supervised release term and imposition of an eight-month prison sentence, based upon Sims' admitted violation of the terms and conditions of his supervised release. Sims' attorney has filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), claiming that the district court abused its discretion in finding violation of the terms of supervised release and imposing the eight-month prison sentence, 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. Sims' claim that the district court abused its discretion in finding a violation of the conditions of Sims' supervised release is without merit, given Sims' admissions at the revocation hearing. In addition, the district court sentenced Sims within a correctly calculated guideline sentence range which was within the statutory maximum penalty. As such, we will not review Sims' sentence. See United States v. Porter, 909 F.2d 789, 794 (4th Cir. 1990). Accordingly, we affirm both the district court's finding of a violation of the terms of supervised release, and its imposition of the prison sentence on that violation. This Court requires that counsel inform his client, in writing, of his right to petition the 2 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. Counsel's motion must state that a copy thereof was served on the client. We dis- pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the Court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 3