Collins v. United States

354 F. Supp. 3d 105
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJanuary 24, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 16-11363-DPW; CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 13-10191-DPW
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 354 F. Supp. 3d 105 (Collins v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. United States, 354 F. Supp. 3d 105 (D.D.C. 2019).

Opinion

DOUGLAS P. WOODLOCK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter has its origin in the conviction of the Petitioner, Michael Collins, for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). On January 23, 2014, Mr. Collins was sentenced to 15 years in prison as an armed career criminal subject to the sentencing enhancement imposed by the Armed Career Criminal Act ("ACCA"). Mr. Collins filed the present petition for habeas corpus to vacate and correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in 2016, arguing that, in light of Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015) (" Johnson II " ), he was not properly characterized as an armed career criminal subject to the ACCA's enhancement. Case law in the First Circuit since Johnson II undermines the contentions which are offered in the petition.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background.

On June 25, 2013, Mr. Collins was charged in a one count indictment as a *109felon in possession of a firearm (a Norinco, Model SKS, 7.62 millimeter rifle), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

Both the Presentence Investigation Report ("PSR") prepared by the Probation Office and the Government's Sentencing Memorandum, stated that Mr. Collins had at least three prior state convictions and therefore qualified as an Armed Career Criminal. In particular, the PSR listed the following convictions which could be considered predicate offenses for the purpose of the ACCA sentencing enhancement:

(1) March 6, 1990 conviction in Boston Municipal Court for Larceny from the Person and Assault and Battery by a Dangerous Weapon, [PSR ¶ 32];
(2) June 18, 1992 convictions in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Assault with Intent to Kill and Assault and Battery by a Dangerous Weapon, [PSR ¶ 35];
(3) July 2, 1992 conviction in Middlesex Superior Court for Assault and Battery by a Dangerous Weapon, [PSR ¶ 36];
(4) August 12, 1992 convictions in Cambridge District Court for Assault and Battery by a Dangerous Weapon,1 [PSR ¶ 34];
(5) October 15, 2001 convictions in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Robbery, Armed Assault with Intent to Rob, Kidnapping, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, [PSR ¶ 39]; and,
(6) October 16, 2008 conviction in West Roxbury District Court for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.2 [PSR ¶ 47].

In addition, the Government's Sentencing Memorandum referenced a July 27, 2005 conviction in Somerville District Court for Breaking and Entering a Building in the Nighttime as a predicate offense, although the PSR did not include this particular conviction in its list of predicate offenses.

On January 17, 2014, Mr. Collins filed his own sentencing memorandum, and objected generally to his classification as an Armed Career Criminal because his prior convictions were not charged, admitted to, or proven by the Government. I rejected that argument and sentenced him as an armed career criminal to the mandatory minimum sentence required by the ACCA of 15 years incarceration. He did not appeal.

If Mr. Collins had not been classified as an armed career criminal, he would have been subject to, at most, ten years incarceration - the statutory maximum penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 in the absence of the ACCA sentencing enhancement. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2).

B. The Current Legal Context

The ACCA imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years incarceration for "[any] person who violates section 922(g)... and has three previous convictions by any court ... for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both, committed on occasions different from one another." 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). The statute defines a "violent felony" as any felony that either "(i) has as an element the use, attempted *110use, or threated use of physical force against the person of another; or (ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves the use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another." 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B).

In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down part of the second clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), the so-called residual clause, as unconstitutionally vague. Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 2557, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015) ( Johnson II ). "[T]he residual clause," the Court held, "leaves grave uncertainty about how to estimate the risk posed by a crime" because it "ties the judicial assessment of risk to a judicially imagined 'ordinary case' of a crime." Id. It also "leaves uncertainty about how much risk it takes for a crime to qualify as a violent felony," especially because the residual clause required judges to apply "an imprecise 'serious potential risk' standard" to "a judge-imagined abstraction."

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Related

Charlton v. United States
389 F. Supp. 3d 107 (District of Columbia, 2019)

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354 F. Supp. 3d 105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-united-states-dcd-2019.