United States of America v. Heather Valentine Simmons

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 21-1701
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Heather Valentine Simmons
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern
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Submitted: October 6, 2021
Filed: October 14, 2021
[Unpublished]
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Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Heather Simmons appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after she
pled guilty to a drug offense. Her counsel has moved to withdraw and has filed a
1The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for
the Southern District of Iowa.

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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.
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.
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