Fortune v. United States

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Tennessee
DecidedMarch 16, 2022
Docket2:20-cv-00139
StatusUnknown

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

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Fortune v. United States, (E.D. Tenn. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT GREENEVILLE

LAMONT DARNELL FORTUNE, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Nos. 2:20-CV-139 ) 2:15-CR-132 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Respondent. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before the Court is Lamont Darnell Fortune’s (“Petitioner’s”) pro se motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. [Doc. 1; Criminal Docket (“Crim.”) Doc. 255].1 The United States has responded in opposition. [Doc. 7]. Petitioner did not file a reply, and the time for doing so has passed. See Rule 5(d) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings for the United States District Courts; [see also Doc. 4]. Petitioner has also filed a motion for an extension of time to file a memorandum of law in support of his § 2255 motion [Doc. 2] and a motion to grant his § 2255 motion [Doc. 9], which are pending before this Court. For the reasons below, Petitioner’s § 2255 motion [Doc. 1; Crim. Doc. 255] will be DENIED, his motion to grant [Doc. 9] will be DENIED, and his motion for an extension [Doc. 2] will be DENIED as MOOT. I. BACKGROUND

1 Document numbers not otherwise specified refer to the civil docket. In November 2015, Petitioner and three co-defendants were charged in an eleven- count Indictment pertaining to conspiracy and distribution of 280 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (“crack”), a

Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A) along with related forfeiture allegations. [Crim. Doc. 3]. Petitioner was named in three counts and the forfeiture allegations. [See id.]. Prior to trial, the Government filed a total of three 21 U.S.C. § 851(a)(1) notices of intention to seek increased punishment based on prior felony drug convictions. The first

provided information regarding Petitioner’s November 1997 North Carolina conviction. [Crim. Doc. 11]. The second added information regarding another prior conviction, this one in 1999 in Virginia. [Crim. Doc. 49]. These two notices were filed before Petitioner’s trial began. The third notice, filed after trial, omitted Petitioner’s 1997 North Carolina conviction and corrected a clerical error in the case number for Petitioner’s 1999 Virginia

conviction. [Crim. Doc. 146]. On April 20, 2017, after a two-day trial, Petitioner was found guilty as to Counts One and Eight of the Indictment by a jury of his peers. [Crim. Doc. 155].2 At the close of the Government’s case-in-chief, Petitioner moved for a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Rule 29, which was denied by the Court. [Crim. Doc. 153].

Prior to sentencing, a Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) was prepared. The PSR calculated a total offense level of 34 and a criminal history category of VI, resulting

2 The Court incorporates by reference the facts of the case as set forth in the Offense Conduct section of the PSR. [Crim. Doc. 200, ¶¶ 6-14]. in a guideline range of 262 to 327 months. [Crim. Doc. 200, ¶ 72]. Pursuant to the Government’s § 851 notice, the statutory mandatory minimum sentence was enhanced to 20 years, or 240 months’ imprisonment. [Id. at ¶ 71]

The Government filed a notice of no objections to the PSR. [Crim. Doc. 202]. The Government also filed sentencing memorandum wherein it responded to Petitioner’s objections to the PSR, concurred that the correct advisory guideline calculation was 262 to 327 months’ imprisonment, and recommended a 262-month sentence. [Crim Doc. 214]. Petitioner, through counsel, filed a notice of objections to the PSR. [Crim. Doc.

205]. Petitioner raised objections to the facts (and admittedly fairly reflected trial testimony) in the Offense Conduct section of the PSR; the facts in paragraphs 33, 36, 39 regarding his prior convictions; the finding that he was responsible for 1.8 kilograms of drugs; the two-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for obstruction of justice, the two-point criminal history enhancement for being on probation for a prior offense when

he committed the instant offense; the finding that he was convicted of the offenses listed in paragraphs 36, 38, and 39; the determination that Petitioner fell within criminal history category VI; the inclusion of offense listed in paragraphs 47-58 which had previously been dismissed, some after a jury trial; and the advisory guidelines range as it would need to be recalculated if the Court sustained Petitioner’s objections. [Id.]. The Government

responded to Petitioner’s objections in its sentencing memorandum [Crim. Doc. 214], and the probation officer filed a PSR addendum, addressing Petitioner’s objections and including supporting documents for specific objections. [Crim. Doc. 215]. After considering the filings and applicable law, the Court overruled all of Petitioner’s objections. [Crim. Doc. 218]. Petitioner, through counsel, also filed a sentencing memorandum, requesting a

sentence of 240 months, the statutory mandatory minimum. [Crim. Doc. 213]. Petitioner argued that 240 months was proper if the Court sustained Petitioner’s objections to the PSR, that the § 3553 factors weigh in favor of a 240 months’ sentence, that 240 months would afford adequate deterrence – both specific and general, that 240 months was a significant and severe punishment, and that anything more than 240 months would have

been “overkill as it relate[d] to this defendant.” [Id.]. Petitioner also alternatively argued for a bottom of the guidelines sentence of 262 months if the Court overruled Petitioner’s objections and was inclined to sentence Petitioner within the advisory guideline range. [Id.]. On August 17, 2017, the Court sentenced Petitioner to a total of 272 months’

imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release. [Crim. Doc. 221]. Petitioner filed a direct appeal on August 28, 2017. [Crim. Doc. 223]. The Court of Appeals issued a ruling affirming Petitioner’s sentence on December 26, 2018. [Crim. Doc. 247]. Petitioner requested and received an extension of time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari, extending his time to file up to and including May 27, 2019. [Doc. 2, p. 5]. Petitioner failed

to timely file a petition for writ of certiorari and his second motion for an extension of time to file was denied as he had already been granted an extension for the maximum amount of time allowed. [Id. at 6]. On June 23, 2020, Petitioner filed the instant § 2255 motion. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW Under § 2255(a), a federal prisoner may move to vacate, set aside, or correct his judgment of conviction and sentence if he claims that the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, that the court lacked jurisdiction to impose

the sentence, or that the sentence is in excess of the maximum authorized by law or is otherwise subject to collateral attack. 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a). As a threshold standard, to obtain post-conviction relief under § 2255, the motion must allege: (1) an error of constitutional magnitude; (2) a sentence imposed outside the federal statutory limits; or (3) an error of fact or law so fundamental as to render the entire criminal proceeding

invalid. Mallett v. United States, 334 F.3d 491, 496-97 (6th Cir. 2003); Moss v. United States, 323 F.3d 445, 454 (6th Cir. 2003).

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