[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

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No. 16-16487

Non-Argument Calendar

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D.C. Docket Nos. 1:16-cv-21978-KMM,

1:11-cr-20678-KMM-2

MONTAVIS MIDDLETON, 

 Petitioner-Appellant,

versus

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Respondent-Appellee.

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Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Florida

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(July 12, 2017)

Before MARCUS, MARTIN, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

Montavis Middleton, a federal prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of 

his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate his total 321-month imprisonment sentence, 

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which was imposed after a guilty plea to 10 counts: 1 count of conspiracy to 

commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); 7 counts of Hobbs 

Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); and 2 counts of possessing a 

firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with the Hobbs Act 

robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He argues on appeal that he is 

innocent of his two convictions under § 924(c) because the predicate conviction for 

both counts, Hobbs Act robbery, is no longer a crime of violence after the holding 

in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015). He also argues that he is no 

longer a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines because Hobbs Act 

robbery is not a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a), and he does not have 

two prior convictions for crimes of violence under § 4B1.2(a). 

I.

Obtaining a certificate of appealability (“COA”) is a jurisdictional 

prerequisite to appellate review. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 335-36 

(2003). To obtain a COA, a movant must make a substantial showing of the denial 

of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); Spencer v. United States, 773 

F.3d 1132, 1138 (11th Cir. 2014) (en banc). On exceptional occasions, we may 

expand a COA sua sponte to include issues that reasonable jurists would find 

debatable. See Mays v. United States, 817 F.3d 728, 733 (11th Cir. 2016). 

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The COA in this case authorized an appeal only with regard to the sole issue 

the district court addressed and concluded could be debatable among reasonable 

jurists: whether the residual clause in the Sentencing Guidelines is void for 

vagueness. See Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 335-36. Middleton did not apply to expand 

the COA, and we decline to sua sponte expand the COA, because this is not an 

exceptional case where expansion is warranted. See Mays, 817 F.3d at 733; 

Spencer, 773 F.3d at 1138. Therefore, Middleton’s argument that he is innocent of 

his two convictions under § 924(c) is outside the scope of the COA, and we will 

not address the merits of it.

II.

When reviewing the district court’s denial of a motion to vacate, we review 

legal issues de novo and findings of fact for clear error. Lynn v. United States, 365 

F.3d 1225, 1232 (11th Cir. 2004). In Beckles v. United States, the Supreme Court 

held that the advisory Sentencing Guidelines are not subject to a vagueness 

challenge under the Due Process Clause, such that the residual clause in the career 

offender guideline, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a), is not void for vagueness. 137 S. Ct. 886 

(2017).

Reviewing Middleton’s argument de novo, Beckles forecloses it. See Lynn, 

365 F.3d at 1232. The Sentencing Guidelines are not subject to a vagueness 

challenge under the Due Process Clause and were not affected by the holding in 

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Johnson. See Beckles, 137 S. Ct. at 897. Therefore, Middleton’s convictions are 

still crimes of violence under the career offender guideline, and the district court 

properly denied his § 2255 motion as to this issue.

AFFIRMED.

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