Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_10-cr-00108/USCOURTS-cand-3_10-cr-00108-4/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Stephen Richard Holmes
Defendant
USA
Plaintiff

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

USA,

Plaintiff,

v.

HOLMES,

Defendant.

Case No. 10-cr-00108-SI-1 

ORDER GRANTING STEPHEN 

RICHARD HOLMES'S MOTION FOR A 

CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY

Re: Dkt. No. 39

On November 28, 2016, the Court denied Stephen Richard Holmes’s motion to vacate, set 

aside or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Holmes now seeks a certificate of 

appealability to challenge the determination that federal unarmed bank robbery, in violation of 18 

U.S.C. § 2113(a), remains a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G § 4B1.2(a) notwithstanding the 

Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015). Recently, another 

district court in the Ninth Circuit held that unarmed bank robbery is not a crime of violence. See

Doriety v. United States, No. 16-924 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 10, 2016). In light of differing judicial 

opinions on this issue, Holmes has demonstrated that “reasonable jurists would find the district 

court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 

473, 484 (2000). Accordingly, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion for a certificate of 

appealability on this issue.

This order resolves Dkt. No. 39.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: November 29, 2016

______________________________________

SUSAN ILLSTON

United States District Judge

Case 3:10-cr-00108-SI Document 40 Filed 11/29/16 Page 1 of 1