Jones v. United States

14 F. Supp. 3d 811, 2014 WL 1493482
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedApril 15, 2014
DocketCase Nos. A-13-CA-659-SS, A-11-CR-517-SS
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 14 F. Supp. 3d 811 (Jones v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. United States, 14 F. Supp. 3d 811, 2014 WL 1493482 (W.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

SAM SPARKS, District Judge.

BE IT REMEMBERED on this day the Court reviewed the file in the above-styled cause, and specifically Movant Craig Jones’s Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 [# 30], Respondent United States of America’s Response [# 33], Movant Jones’s Reply [# 34], and Respondent’s Response to Order [# 36]. Having considered the documents, the file as a whole, and the governing law, the Court enters the following opinion and orders DENYING the motion.

Background

On September 20, 2011, Movant Craig Jones was charged in a one-count indictment with manufacturing and possession with intent to manufacture 100 or more marijuana plants in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), a Class B felony. This offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and statutory maximum of 40 years. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(l)(B)(viii). On September 6, 2012, Jones entered a plea of guilty to the one-count indictment pursuant to a plea agreement. On November 17, 2012, this Court accepted Jones’s guilty plea and sentenced him to a 26-month term of imprisonment, followed by a 4-year term of supervised release. Jones received less than the mandatory minimum of 5 years because he met the criteria set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(l)-(5) and U.S.S.G. § 5B1.2(a), and therefore the Court could impose a sentence in accordance with the applicable guidelines without regard to any statutory minimum sentence. Jones’s guideline range was 24-30 months, and the Court sentenced him to the low end of this range — pursuant to the Government’s sentence recommendation in the plea agreement — when it imposed a 26-month sentence. See Plea Agreement [# 15], at 7-8. Jones did not pursue a direct appeal of his conviction and sentence.

On August 5, 2013, Jones timely filed a Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 [# 30]. In this motion, Jones argues he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to research the relevant legal issues and file a motion to suppress the evidence in his case. Specifically, law enforcement officers conducted a search of Jones’s residence with a drug detection dog, and after the dog alerted to the existence of controlled substances in his residence, a [815]*815search warrant was obtained the next day. Relying on the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Florida v. Jardines, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 1409, 185 L.Ed.2d 495 (2013), Jones contends the dog sniff was a search in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, and the evidence seized from Jones’s residence should have been excluded. According to Jones, if his lawyer had researched the issue, he would have learned the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in Jardines in January 2012, meaning it was pending at the time Jones was arrested, entered his guilty plea, and was sentenced. The Supreme Court eventually issued the Jardines opinion on March 26, 2013, approximately four months after Jones was sentenced. If Jones’s lawyer had been aware of Jar-dines, contends Jones, he would have filed a motion to suppress, which would have been granted in light of Jardines. Instead, according to Jones, his lawyer did not research the issue, told Jones such a motion would be frivolous, advised him that no Fourth Amendment violation occurred, and convinced him to plead guilty because the evidence obtained against him was obtained completely legally.

Analysis

I. Legal Standard

A. 28 U.S.C. § 2255

Generally, there are four grounds upon which a defendant may move to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255: (1) the imposition of a sentence in violation of the Constitution or the laws of the United States; (2) a lack of jurisdiction of the District Court that imposed the sentence; (3) the imposition of a sentence in excess of the maximum authorized by law; and (4) the sentence is otherwise subject to collateral attack. 28 U.S.C. § 2255; United States v. Placente, 81 F.3d 555, 558 (5th Cir.1996). Section 2255 is an extraordinary measure; it cannot be used for errors that are not constitutional or jurisdictional if those errors could have been raised on direct appeal. United States v. Stumpf, 900 F.2d 842, 845 (5th Cir.1990). If the error is not of constitutional or jurisdictional magnitude, the movant must show the error could not have been raised on direct appeal and would, if condoned, “result in a complete miscarriage of justice.” United States v. Smith, 32 F.3d 194, 196 (5th Cir.1994). In addition, a defendant who raises a constitutional or jurisdictional issue for the first time on collateral review must show both “cause” for his procedural default, and “actual prejudice” resulting from the error. Placente, 81 F.3d at 558.

B. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Strickland v. Washington provides the familiar two-pronged test for establishing a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel:

First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This .requires showing that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction ... resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable.

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).

[816]*816II. Application

Jones contends his lawyer was ineffective. He argues if his counsel had researched the law and filed a motion to suppress, the search warrant would have been deemed invalid, and the evidence obtained as a result of the search warrant would have been excluded. When considering the validity of a search warrant, the Court engages in a two step inquiry: (1) the Court must determine whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies; and (2) the Court must determine whether the warrant was supported by probable cause. United States v. Payne,

Related

People v. Burns
2016 IL 118973 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 F. Supp. 3d 811, 2014 WL 1493482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-united-states-txwd-2014.