Stokes v. State

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

Julius Stokes,       
Appellant,

v.

State of South Carolina,       
Respondent.

Appeal From Lexington County

Marc H. Westbrook, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2005-UP-092

Submitted February 1, 2005 – Filed February
8, 2005

APPEAL DISMISSED

Assistant Appellate Defender Eleanor Duffy Cleary, of Columbia,
for Appellant.

Assistant Attorney General Adrianne L. Turner, of Columbia;
and Solicitor Donald V. Myers, of       Lexington, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  On August 6, 1997, Julius Stokes
pled guilty to robbery while armed with a deadly weapon.  He was sentenced to
16 years in prison.  On July 17, 1999, Stokes filed an application for post-conviction
relief, which was dismissed with prejudice on November 17, 1999.  Stokes filed
a writ of certiorari in the South Carolina Supreme Court on May 16, 2000.  After
the submission of a petition pursuant to Johnson v. State, 294 S.C. 310,
364 S.E.2d 201 (1988), the Supreme Court denied the petition and granted counsel’s
request to withdraw as counsel.  Stokes then filed a petition for writ of habeas
corpus on October 23, 2002 in the Lexington County Court of Common Pleas.  In
his writ of habeas corpus, Stokes mentions only his 1997 guilty plea for armed
robbery. [1]   In response, the
State filed a motion to dismiss Stokes’ petition for writ of habeas corpus,
which was granted on August 28, 2003.  Stokes now appeals.  Counsel for Stokes
has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),
asserting that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal and requesting permission
to withdraw from further representation.  Stokes filed a pro se
response.

After a thorough review of the record pursuant
to Anders and State v. Williams, 305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357
(1991), we dismiss the appeal and grant counsel’s petition to be relieved.

APPEAL DISMISSED. [2]

ANDERSON, BEATTY, and SHORT, JJ., concur.

[1] According to the material from Stokes’ application for post-conviction
relief, he pled guilty in Richland County in 1998 to assault and battery of
a high and aggravated nature, carjacking, and two counts of strong-arm robbery.  

[2] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.