Anders v. California
United States Supreme Court
386 U.S. 738 (1967)
Relevant factsFree
Anders's (defendant) appointed appellate counsel sought to withdraw, sending the appellate court only a letter stating the appeal had "no merit" without any supporting explanation; the appellate court accepted the withdrawal and affirmed the conviction based on that same conclusory finding of lack of merit.
IssueFree
Whether a state court may accept an appointed counsel's withdrawal on first appeal without an explanation as to why the appeal is frivolous.