State v. Higgins

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE
CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE
239(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State,       
Respondent,

v.

James Higgins,       
Appellant.

Appeal From Spartanburg County

John C. Few, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 
2004-UP-163

Submitted January 29, 2004 – Filed March 15, 2004

APPEAL DISMISSED

Chief Attorney Daniel T. Stacey, Office of Appellate Defense,
of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney
General John W. McIntosh,  Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson,
all of Columbia;  and Solicitor Harold W. Gowdy, III, of Spartanburg, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  James Higgins appeals his convictions
for kidnapping, armed robbery, common law robbery, and possession of a stolen
vehicle.  Higgins’s appellate counsel has petitioned to be relieved as counsel,
stating he has reviewed the record and has concluded Higgins’s appeal is without
merit.  The issue briefed by counsel concerns whether Higgins, in pleading guilty
as charged, understood the facts in relationship to the applicable law as required
by Boykin v. Alabama. [1]  
Higgins has not filed a brief with this court on his own behalf.

After a review of the record as required
by Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and State v. Williams,
305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357 (1991), we hold there are no directly appealable
issues in this case that are arguable on their merits.  Accordingly, we dismiss
Higgins’s appeal and grant counsel’s petition to be relieved.
[2]

APPEAL DISMISSED.

GOOLSBY, HOWARD, and KITTREDGE, JJ., concur.

[1]   395 U.S. 238 (1969).

[2]   Because oral argument would not aid the court in resolving the issues
on appeal, we decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rules 215
and 220(b)(2), SCACR.