UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

NORTHERN DIVISION 

JAMES NATHANIEL NORMAN, 

 Petitioner, Case No. 14-cr-20629 

v. Honorable Thomas L. Ludington 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Respondent. 

_______________________________________/ 

ORDER CONSTRUING LETTER AS MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A 28 U.S.C. 2255 

MOTION AND DENYING LEAVE 

On October 8, 2014, Petitioner James Nathaniel Norman was indicted on three counts 

involving possession and distribution of illegal drugs. ECF No. 1. Norman pled guilty to one 

count of possession cocaine base and heroin with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 151 

months of imprisonment on April 23, 2015. ECF No. 20. Norman was assigned career offender 

status under the Armed Career Criminal Offenders Act because he had two previous serious drug 

offenses. See Sent. Mem. at 5, ECF No. 19. See also 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii). On October 

12, 2016, Norman filed a letter which requested leave to file a 28 U.S.C § 2255 challenging his 

conviction under Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016). Norman’s letter will be 

construed as a motion requesting leave to file a § 2255 motion and will be denied. 

A motion seeking relief under § 2255 is untimely if it is not filed within a “1-year period 

of limitation. 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f). “That limitation period shall run from the latest of” 

(1) the date on which the judgment of conviction becomes final; 

(2) the date on which the impediment to making a motion created by 

governmental action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States 

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is removed, if the movant was prevented from making a motion by such 

governmental action; 

(3) the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme 

Court, if that right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made 

retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review; or 

(4) the date on which the facts supporting the claim or claims presented could 

have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence. 

Id. at (f)(1)–(4). 

 Norman did not appeal his conviction. Accordingly, his conviction became final for the 

purposes of § 2255(f)(1) on April 30, 2015. Johnson v. United States, 457 F. App’x 462, 465 

(6th Cir. 2012) (explaining that a conviction becomes final for § 2255 purposes ten days after 

entry of judgment if the conviction is not appealed to the Sixth Circuit). Because more than a 

year has passed since that date, any motion for relief under § 2255 would be untimely if § 

2255(f)(1) was relied upon. In his letter, Norman mentions Mathis v. United States, which was 

decided on June 23, 2016. Thus, he appears to be relying on § 2255(f)(3) as the basis for 

timeliness of the § 2255 motion he wishes to file. Mathis involves the question of whether a prior 

conviction could qualify as a violent felony offense under the Armed Career Criminal Act if an 

element of the crime of conviction is broader than an element of the generic offense under the 

Act. 136 S. Ct. at 2248. Mathis was interpreting § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) of the Armed Career Criminal 

Act, which Norman was not sentenced under. For that reason, the Supreme Court’s decision is 

Mathis is not relevant to the determination of whether a potential § 2255 motion by Norman 

would be timely. Absent other reasons why a § 2255 motion would be timely under 28 U.S.C. § 

2255(f), filing a § 2255 motion would be futile. 

 Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Defendant Norman’s request for leave to file a § 2255 

motion is DENIED because any such filing would be futile. 

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Dated: October 25, 2016 s/Thomas L. Ludington 

 THOMAS L. LUDINGTON 

 United States District Judge 

   

PROOF OF SERVICE 

The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served 

upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first 

class U.S. mail on October 25, 2016. 

 s/Michael A. Sian 

 MICHAEL A. SIAN, Case Manager 

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