Source: http://nc.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20190715_0000310.MNC.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2020-04-05 23:41:52
Document Index: 62935425

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2255', '§ 841', '§ 924', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 4', '§ 2255']

FindACase™ | Snipes v. United States
Snipes v. United States
RUBIN BENJAMIN SNIPES, Petitioner,
Petitioner in this action brings a Motion [Doc. #3] to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. He was convicted in this Court of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B) and one count of carrying and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). Petitioner received a sentence of 320 months of imprisonment for the drug conviction and a consecutive 60 months of imprisonment for the firearm conviction. He unsuccessfully pursued a direct appeal. After Petitioner filed his current Motion under § 2255, Respondent responded with a Motion to Dismiss [Doc. #7]. Thereafter, the Court entered an Order [Doc. #11] staying this matter in light of United States v. Brown, No. 17-9276 (U.S), which was then pending before the United States Supreme Court on a petition for certiorari. The Court ordered that any Supplemental Reply by Petitioner be filed within 30 days of a decision in Brown. The Supreme Court later denied certiorari in Brown v. United States, ____ U.S. ____, 139 S.Ct. 14 (2018). Because more than thirty days have passed without any further filings by the parties concerning Brown, the Court will recommend that the stay be lifted and will address the parties' pending Motions.
Petitioner's pending § 2255 Motion raises a single ground for relief in which he challenges his sentence based on Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S.____, 135 S.Ct. 2551 (2015). He contends that a career offender sentencing enhancement that was applied to him under § 4B1.1 of a mandatory version of the United States Sentencing Guidelines is no longer valid following Johnson.
Under § 2255(f)(1), the limitation period runs from the date when the judgment of conviction became final. Where a petitioner files an appeal, finality has been construed to mean when the petitioner may no longer seek further review because of (1) the denial of a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court or (2) the expiration of the time for seeking such review. Clay v. United States, 537 U.S. 522 (2003). Here, Petitioner filed a direct appeal, which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied on March 1, 1994, in United States v. Snipes, No. 92-5370, 1994 WL 62252 (4th Cir. Mar. 1, 1994) (unpublished). Petitioner did not seek certiorari, which means that his conviction became final when his time for seeking certiorari expired 90 days later on May 31, 1994. See Sup. Ct. R. 13(1). Because Petitioner's conviction became final before AEDPA's effective date, his time began to run on that day and expired a year later on April 24, 1997. See Hernandez v. Caldwell, 225 F.3d 435, 438 (4th Cir. 2000). Petitioner did not raise his current claim for relief until 2016 when he filed his current Motion. Petitioner's claim is years out of time under subsection (f)(1). Only if another subsection gives Petitioner more time to file will his Motion be timely.
Finally, the Supreme Court has determined that the one-year limitation period is subject to equitable tolling. Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 649 (2010). Equitable tolling may apply when a petitioner “shows ‘(1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way' and prevented timely filing.” Id. (quoting Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005)). However, Petitioner makes no argument that equitable tolling applies in his case. His claim is untimely and should be dismissed.
IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that the prior stay be lifted, that Respondent's Motion to Dismiss [Doc. #7] be granted, that Petitioner's Motion [Doc. #3] to vacate, set aside or correct sentence be ...