Source: http://mn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150409_0000375.DMN.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-11-24 22:18:05
Document Index: 410988418

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2255', '§ 922', '§ 924', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255']

Leroy Ross, Defendant. Criminal No. 07-426(DSD/JSM)
LeeAnn K. Bell, Assistant U.S. Attorney, counsel for plaintiff.
Leroy Ross, #13637-041, FCI Terre Haute, pro se.
This matter is before the court upon the pro se motion by defendant Leroy Ross to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Based upon a review of the file, record, and proceedings herein, and for the following reasons, the court denies the motion and denies a certificate of appealability.
On January 4, 2008, Ross pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Ross acknowledged three prior felony convictions: (1) December 20, 1999, aggravated assault, (2) December 17, 2001, first-degree trafficking of a controlled substance, and (3) December 17, 2001, first-degree trafficking of a controlled substance in Kentucky. At sentencing, Ross argued that the two controlled substance offenses should count as a single predicate offense for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).[1] The court rejected Ross's argument, finding that the convictions "arose from two separate deliveries of a controlled substance on two separate dates to two different locations for which defendant was later charged with and pled guilty to two different counts of drug trafficking." Sent. Tr. at 11:12-16. The court concluded that Ross's convictions were two "different criminal episodes" and that Ross qualified as an armed career criminal. Id. at 11:19-24. The court sentenced Ross to the 180-month mandatory minimum sentence under the ACCA. Id. at 12:20-21.
Ross appealed his sentence to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the court's application of the ACCA. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, concluding that "Ross's prior convictions for first-degree drug trafficking constitute separate convictions under the ACCA." United States v. Ross, 569 F.3d 821, 824 (8th Cir. 2009). Ross then filed a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on November 9, 2009. ECF Nos. 60, 61.
On January 13, 2015, Ross filed a motion under § 2255, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated because (1) the court erred in applying the ACCA, and (2) his counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to adequately establish that his prior drug convictions were a single predicate act under the ACCA.
I. Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Section 2255 provides a federal inmate with a limited opportunity to challenge the constitutionality, legality, or jurisdictional basis of a sentence imposed by the court. This collateral relief is an extraordinary remedy, reserved for violations of constitutional rights that could not have been raised on direct appeal. United States v. Apfel, 97 F.3d 1074, 1076 (8th Cir. 1996). When considering a § 2255 motion, a court may hold an evidentiary hearing. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255(b). A hearing is not required, however, when "(1) the petitioner's allegations, accepted as true, would not entitle the petitioner to relief, or (2) the allegations cannot be accepted as true because they are contradicted by the record, inherently incredible, or conclusions rather than statements of fact." Sanders v. United States, 341 F.3d 720, 722 (8th Cir. 2003) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Here, no hearing is required because Ross's motion is untimely.
Relevant here, a § 2255 application must be made within one year of the later of: