Opinion
21-1701
10-14-2021
United States of America Plaintiff-Appellee v. Heather Valentine Simmons Defendant-Appellant
Unpublished
Submitted: October 6, 2021
Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern
Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM
Heather Simmons appeals the sentence the district court imposed after she pled guilty to a drug offense. Her counsel has moved to withdraw and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the substantive reasonableness of the sentence. Simmons has also filed a pro se motion seeking appointment of new counsel.
The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
After careful review, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Simmons. See United States v. Brown, 992 F.3d 665, 673 (8th Cir. 2021) (standard of review). We have also considered the issues raised in Simmons's pro se motion and conclude appointment of new counsel is not warranted. Furthermore, having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we deny Simmons's pro se motion, grant counsel leave to withdraw, and affirm.