DUELL v. United States

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 8, 2021
Docket2:20-cv-00662
StatusUnknown

This text of DUELL v. United States (DUELL v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DUELL v. United States, (W.D. Pa. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) v. ) Criminal No. 15-87 ) Civil No. 20-662 ) Judge Nora Barry Fischer HAKEEM DUELL, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION This matter is before the Court on a Motion to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, (“Motion”), filed by pro se Defendant Hakeem Duell (“Defendant”), (Docket No. 3127), his Brief in Support, (Docket No. 3128), the Government’s opposition thereto, (Docket No. 3183), Defendant’s pro se reply, (Docket No. 3191), and the Government’s sur-reply (Docket No. 3194). After careful consideration of the parties’ submissions and for the following reasons, Defendant’s Motion [3127] is denied. II. BACKGROUND A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment on February 2, 2016 against Defendant and numerous co-conspirators. (Docket No. 1020). The superseding indictment charged Defendant with: conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin from March 2012 to May 21, 2015, (Count 1); possession of a firearm in furtherance of his possession with intent to distribute heroin on November 24, 2014, (Count 19); felon in possession of a firearm on November 24, 2014, (Count 23); and possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin on November 24, 2014, (Count 47). See id. In charging Defendant with Count 23 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the grand jury listed six crimes punishable by more than 1- year imprisonment for which Defendant had been convicted prior to his alleged possession of a Stag Arms semi-automatic rifle on November 24, 2014. See id. at 25-26. After pleading not guilty, the case moved into pretrial proceedings and the Government

and Defendant engaged in plea negotiations. (See Docket No. 1125). On October 1, 2016, Defendant requested a pre-plea presentence investigation report to ascertain how “his alleged relevant conduct and serious criminal history would translate into sentence[ing] guidelines.” (Docket No. 1647 at 1). The Court ordered a pre-plea presentence investigation report, which was made available to Defendant on November 29, 2016. (See Docket No. 1652; see also Docket No. 1752). In advance of the trial set for April 24, 2017, Defendant moved to exclude evidence of his prior convictions under Fed. R. Evid. 403 and 404(b). (See Docket No. 2142). A few days later, Defendant entered into a stipulation with the United States that “prior to November 24, 2014, [he] was convicted of a crime that was punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one

year.” (See Docket No. 2208 at 2 ¶ 6). Defendant also stipulated to the admission of an excerpt from a December 4, 2014 state preliminary hearing transcript, in which he testified that he knowingly possessed the Stag Arms semi-automatic rifle on November 24, 2014. See id. at 2 ¶ 7; see also (Docket No. 2223 at 3). The Court issued a memorandum opinion denying Defendant’s motion on April 13, 2017. See id. Ultimately, on April 19, 2017, Defendant pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement with the Government, to Counts 23 and 47 of the superseding indictment, namely, Felon in Possession of a Firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and Possession with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of Heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). (Docket No. 2246). Defendant’s plea agreement provided that in exchange for pleading guilty to Counts 23 and 47 and waiving certain appellate rights, the Government agreed to: (1) move to dismiss Counts 1 and 19 of the superseding indictment;1 (2) not to file an information under 21 U.S.C. § 851 seeking an increased punishment for prior convictions; (3) move the Court to

reduce his offense level for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1; and (4) not to seek a guidelines sentencing enhancement for attempted murder under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(c). (Docket No. 2497 at 11-12 ¶¶ 7-14). Additionally, pursuant to the plea agreement, Defendant agreed to forfeit the Stag Arms semi-automatic rifle and $535.00 seized during his November 24, 2014 arrest. Id. at 11 ¶ 10. The Court held a sentencing hearing on August 31, 2017, and imposed a sentence of concurrent terms of 100 months’ imprisonment, at each of Counts 23 and 47, which was within the advisory guideline range of 92 to 115 months. (See Docket No. 2619; see also Docket No. 2550 at 2). Neither the Government nor Defendant appealed the Court’s judgment. Instead, more than two-and-a-half years after his sentence, on May 4, 2020, Defendant filed the instant motion

under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (Docket No. 3127). Defendant’s § 2255 motion challenges his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and is predicated on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019). The Government countered with its response in opposition on October 1, 2020. (Docket No. 3183). Defendant replied on October 30, 2020, and the Government submitted its sur-reply on November 9, 2020. (Docket No. 3191; Docket No. 3194). As such, the Court considers Defendant’s motion fully briefed and ripe for disposition.

1 Counts 1 and 19 charged Defendant with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 1 Kilogram or more of Heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i), respectively. (See Docket No. 1020). III. LEGAL STANDARD A prisoner in federal custody may move to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a) if such “sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States.” Said motion must be filed within one year of, inter alia, the date the judgment of

conviction becomes final or “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.” See id. § 2255(f)(1), (f)(3). However, a § 2255 motion may not be used as “a substitute for an appeal.” Gov’t of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, 759 F.2d 1073, 1074 (3d Cir. 1985). In that regard, claims raised in a § 2255 motion that were not raised on direct appeal are considered to be procedurally defaulted. See Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 504 (2003).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Reed v. Ross
468 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Hill v. Lockhart
474 U.S. 52 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Bousley v. United States
523 U.S. 614 (Supreme Court, 1998)
United States v. Vonn
535 U.S. 55 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Massaro v. United States
538 U.S. 500 (Supreme Court, 2003)
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, Connie
759 F.2d 1073 (Third Circuit, 1985)
United States v. Reginald Dodd
225 F.3d 340 (Third Circuit, 2000)
Joseph Ambrose v. Raymond Booker
684 F.3d 638 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
Jae Lee v. United States
582 U.S. 357 (Supreme Court, 2017)
Garza v. Idaho
586 U.S. 232 (Supreme Court, 2019)
Rehaif v. United States
588 U.S. 225 (Supreme Court, 2019)
Kareem Sampson v.
954 F.3d 159 (Third Circuit, 2020)
United States v. Malik Nasir
982 F.3d 144 (Third Circuit, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
DUELL v. United States, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/duell-v-united-states-pawd-2021.