THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals


The State,        Respondent,

v.

James Arthur Brown, Jr.,        Appellant.


Appeal From Spartanburg County
Donald W. Beatty, Circuit Court Judge


Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-516
Submitted May 30, 2003 – Filed August 27, 2003


APPEAL DISMISSED


Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

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


PER CURIAM:  James Arthur Brown, Jr. was convicted of murder.  He was sentenced to life imprisonment.  Brown’s appellate counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).  Counsel additionally submitted a petition to be relieved from representation, asserting there are no directly appealable issues of arguable merit.  Brown filed a pro se response with the Court.

After a 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. [1]

APPEAL DISMISSED.

HEARN, C.J., CONNOR and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.


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