In re: Randolph McNeill

68 F.4th 195
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit·Decided May 22, 2023·No. 20-159·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 20-159

In re: RANDOLPH LEE MCNEILL, Movant.

On Motion for Authorization to File Successive § 2255 Motion in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.

Argued: March 9, 2023 Decided: May 22, 2023

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, WYNN, Circuit Judge, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Motion denied by published opinion. Judge Wynn wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Gregory and Senior Judge Floyd joined.

ARGUED: Nathaniel Wilson Reisinger, WILMERHALE LLP, Washington, D.C., for Movant. Rudy E. Renfer, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Respondent. ON BRIEF: Catherine M.A. Carroll, Alex Tucker Stewart, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, Washington, D.C., for Movant. Michael F. Easley, Jr., United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Respondent.

WYNN, Circuit Judge:

In 2009, a jury convicted Randolph Lee McNeill of knowingly possessing a firearm as a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). McNeill was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment. His direct appeal and initial application for postconviction relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 were unsuccessful. Now, McNeill moves this Court for authorization to file a second or successive § 2255 application premised on the Supreme Court’s decision in Rehaif v. United States. And he argues in the alternative that, if his motion is denied, he will be authorized to file a traditional § 2241 habeas application through § 2255(e)’s savings clause.

We deny McNeill’s motion for authorization to file a second or successive § 2255 application because Rehaif did not announce a constitutional rule. But as a consequence of our determination that McNeill may not file a § 2255 application, we hold that he may file a § 2241 application under the savings clause.

I.

McNeill was charged with “knowingly possess[ing], in and affecting commerce, a firearm,” “having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year,” in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). 1 J.A. 11. 2

1

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2008) (“It shall be unlawful for any person . . . who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year . . . [to] possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition . . . .”); id. § 924(a)(2) (2008) (“Whoever knowingly violates” § 922(g) “shall be fined as provided in this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.”).

2

Citations to the “J.A.” refer to the Joint Appendix filed by the parties in this appeal.

At trial, the parties stipulated that, “as of September 2, 2008, the Defendant had previously been convicted of a felony; that is, a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year and that the Defendant’s civil rights to possess a firearm have not been restored.” J.A. 27. The government did not introduce evidence that McNeill knew of his felon status at the time of the offense conduct. McNeill was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment. He appealed, and this Court affirmed. United States v. McNeill, 419 F. App’x 427 (4th Cir. 2011) (per curiam).

In 2012, McNeill filed a motion to vacate his conviction under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

The government moved to dismiss the motion, and the district court granted the motion to dismiss and denied a certificate of appealability. McNeill subsequently filed three motions in this Court for authorization to file a second or successive § 2255 application, in February 2016, July 2016, and April 2019; all were denied.

In June 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019). In Rehaif, the Court held that, in order for a defendant to be convicted of “knowingly” possessing a firearm as an individual prohibited from possessing a firearm in violation of §§ 922(g) and 924(a)(2), the government must prove both “that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and also that he knew he had the relevant status when he possessed it.” Id. at 2194.

On February 27, 2020, McNeill filed another motion for authorization to file a second or successive § 2255 motion based on a Rehaif claim and others. This Court appointed counsel, who filed a brief arguing that McNeill should be granted authorization

to file a successive § 2255 motion based on the Rehaif claim. The 2020 motion for authorization is now before us.

II.

A.

The writ of habeas corpus is “a writ antecedent to statute,” Farkas v. Butner, 972 F.3d 548, 553 (4th Cir. 2020) (quoting Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466, 473 (2004)), which “secured the ‘natural inherent right’ of personal liberty,” and “‘which could not be surrendered or forfeited’ save for the commission of a crime,” id. (quoting 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 133 (1st ed. 1768)). Although the writ “existed before statute, its contours have been molded by the legislature over time.” Id. In 1867, Congress codified the right to pursue habeas relief, which is now found at 28 U.S.C. § 2241. United States v. Hayman, 342 U.S. 205, 211 (1952).

In the aftermath of the 1867 enactment, the federal courts saw a substantial increase in the number of applications for habeas relief, including applications that were “repetitious and patently frivolous.” Id. at 212 (footnote omitted). And because the statute required applications to be filed in the district of confinement, the increased volume of applications was concentrated in the districts containing major federal penal institutions, taxing those district courts. Id. at 213–14.

To address these challenges, in 1948, Congress created a new statutory path for federal prisoners to collaterally attack their convictions, codified at 28 U.S.C. § 2255, which allowed individuals in federal custody to pursue relief in the sentencing court, rather than the court for the district in which they were confined. Id. at 214–19; see Act of June

25, 1948, Pub. L. No. 80-773, § 2255, 62 Stat. 869, 967–968. The “sole purpose” of § 2255 “was to minimize the difficulties encountered in habeas corpus hearings by affording the same rights in another and more convenient forum.” Hayman, 342 U.S. at 219.

Section 2255 permits individuals who have been convicted of federal crimes and are consequently in federal custody, 3 and who have exhausted their direct appeals, to move the sentencing court to vacate, set aside, or correct their sentence on the grounds that the sentence “was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a).

Where an individual is eligible to pursue collateral review through § 2255, that statute generally provides the only mechanism available to him, Farkas, 972 F.3d at 554, with one exception: § 2255(e)—sometimes called the “savings clause”—“permits a prisoner to sidestep” the § 2255 process “and instead file a traditional § 2241 habeas application if it ‘appears that the [§ 2255] remedy by motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention.’” Id. at 555 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e)).

3

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

In re: Randolph McNeill, 68 F.4th 195 (4th Cir. 2023).

68 F.4th 195 (In re: Randolph McNeill) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Jamique Mays
Fourth Circuit, 2025
Black v. Cooper
W.D. North Carolina, 2024
Cromartie v. USA - 2255
D. Maryland, 2023
Bond v. Kendall
D. Maryland, 2023