Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca3-16-01404/USCOURTS-ca3-16-01404-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Adam N. Subervi
Appellee
Michael West
Appellant

Document Text:

CLD-288 NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

___________

No. 16-1404

___________

MICHAEL WEST,

Appellant

v.

ADAM N. SUBERVI, U.S. Attorney

____________________________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of New Jersey

(D.N.J. No. 2-15-cv-07100)

District Judge: Honorable Claire C. Cecchi

____________________________________

Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) or 

Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6

June 16, 2016

Before: FISHER, JORDAN, and VANASKIE, Circuit Judges

(Filed: June 29, 2016)

_________

OPINION*

_________

PER CURIAM

Pro se appellant Michael West appeals the District Court’s dismissal of his habeas 

petition filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Because the appeal fails to present a 

 

* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not 

constitute binding precedent.

Case: 16-1404 Document: 003112339751 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/29/2016
2

substantial question, we will summarily affirm the District Court’s judgment. See 3d Cir. 

LAR 27.4 & I.O.P. 10.6. 

West, a federal prisoner, is currently serving a 95 month sentence imposed by the 

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey for convictions of distributing 

child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(A), and possessing child 

pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). West withdrew his direct 

appeal to this Court. In 2013, he filed a motion to vacate his sentence pursuant to 28 

U.S.C. § 2255. In 2015, while that motion was still pending, West filed a duplicative § 

2255 motion, which the District Court dismissed and refiled as an amended § 2255 

motion in the initial proceeding. That motion remains pending. 

West next filed the instant § 2241 petition challenging his convictions on double 

jeopardy and ineffective assistance of counsel grounds. The District Court dismissed the 

petition, and this appeal ensued.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. In reviewing the District 

Court’s dismissal of the § 2241 petition, we exercise plenary review over its legal 

conclusions and review its factual findings for clear error. See Cradle v. United States ex 

rel. Miner, 290 F.3d 536, 538 (3d Cir. 2002) (per curiam). 

 The District Court properly concluded that the claims that West raised in his 

§ 2241 petition constitute attacks on the validity of his conviction.1 A motion to vacate 

 

1

In contrast, claims attacking the execution of a sentence are within the purview of 

§ 2241. See McGee v. Martinez, 627 F.3d 933, 935 (3d Cir. 2010). To the extent West 

Case: 16-1404 Document: 003112339751 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/29/2016
3

sentence pursuant to § 2255 is the presumptive means for a federal prisoner to challenge 

the validity of a conviction or sentence. See Okereke v. United States, 307 F.3d 117, 120 

(3d Cir. 2002). West may not pursue a collateral attack on his conviction by way of 

§ 2241 unless he can show that “the remedy by [§ 2255] motion is inadequate or 

ineffective to test the legality of his detention.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e). Under this “safety 

valve” provision, “[a] § 2255 motion is inadequate or ineffective only where the 

petitioner demonstrates that some limitation of scope or procedure would prevent a 

§ 2255 proceeding from affording him a full hearing and adjudication” of his claims. 

Cradle, 290 F.3d at 538. 

 This is clearly not a situation in which West “had no earlier opportunity to challenge 

his conviction.” In re Dorsainvil, 119 F.3d 245, 251 (3d Cir. 1997). The § 2255 motion 

is pending, and West makes no argument to suggest that his remedy in the sentencing 

court would be inadequate or ineffective.2 Under these circumstances, the District Court 

properly dismissed the petition. Because the District Court lacked jurisdiction to grant 

West relief under § 2241, his request for bail under Fed. R. App. P. 23 must be denied. 

See Landano v. Rafferty, 970 F.2d 1230, 1239 (3d Cir. 1992) (bail pending disposition of 

habeas corpus review is available “only when the petitioner has raised substantial 

 

seeks to raise such a claim for the first time on appeal, we decline to address it. See, e.g., 

Newark Morning Ledger Co. v. United States, 539 F.2d 929, 932 (3d Cir.1976) (“We 

generally refuse to consider issues that are raised for the first time on appeal.”). This 

decision is without prejudice to any action West may wish to take in the District Court, 

such as presenting this type of claim in a § 2241 petition. 

2

Indeed, the District Court indicated that West could further amend his § 2255 motion to 

Case: 16-1404 Document: 003112339751 Page: 3 Date Filed: 06/29/2016
4

constitutional claims upon which he has a high probability of success [. . .] or [has shown 

that] exceptional circumstances exist which make the grant of bail necessary to make the 

habeas remedy effective”).

Accordingly, because no “substantial question” is presented as to the dismissal of 

the § 2241 petition, we will summarily affirm the judgment of the District Court. See 3d 

Cir. LAR 27.4; 3d Cir. I.O.P. 10.6. West’s motion for bail is denied. 

 

include the claims raised in the § 2241 petition.

Case: 16-1404 Document: 003112339751 Page: 4 Date Filed: 06/29/2016