Susinka v. United States

19 F. Supp. 3d 829, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67320, 2014 WL 1998242
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 14, 2014
DocketNo. 13 C 1693
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 19 F. Supp. 3d 829 (Susinka v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Susinka v. United States, 19 F. Supp. 3d 829, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67320, 2014 WL 1998242 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RUBÉN CASTILLO, Chief Judge.

Presently before the Court is Petitioner Stephen Susinka’s pro se motion to reconsider this Court’s order denying his petition to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (R. 10, Pet’r’s Mot.) For the reasons set forth below, Petitioner’s motion is denied, and this case is dismissed with prejudice.

RELEVANT FACTS

The relevant facts relating to Petitioner’s criminal conviction are set forth in a pair of opinions by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, see United States v. Benabe, 654 F.3d 753, 757 (7th Cir.2011); United States v. Morales, 655 F.3d 608 (7th Cir.2011), and several by this Court, see, e.g., United States v. Delatorre, 572 F.Supp.2d 967 (N.D.Ill.2008); United States v. Delatorre, 522 F.Supp.2d 1034 (N.D.Ill.2007); United States v. Delatorre, 508 F.Supp.2d 648 (N.D.Ill.2007); United States v. Delatorre, 438 F.Supp.2d 892 (N.D.Ill.2006). The Court repeats the facts here only as they pertain to the Petition and the instant motion to reconsider.

Petitioner was one of sixteen individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on various racketeering-related charges in 2006. Petitioner and his codefendants were members of the Aurora Deuces, the Aurora, Illinois chapter of the Insane Deuce Nation street gang. Petitioner was responsible for carrying guns and going on missions for the Insane Deuces. On more than one occasion, he served as a driver for other Insane Deuces who murdered or attempted to murder members of rival gangs. Petitioner was charged with racketeering conspiracy (Count One) and narcotics conspiracy (Count Nine).

In an effort not to overwhelm the jury, and due to the logistical challenge of trying so many defendants in a single courtroom, this Court severed the case into two trials. Petitioner was tried with the alleged leaders of the gang. On April 21, 2008, after a two-month trial and more than two weeks of deliberation, a jury convicted Petitioner of participating in a racketeering conspiracy (Count One) and was unable to reach a verdict on the narcotics conspiracy charge in Count Nine. The Court declared a mistrial on Count Nine. On January 20, 2009, this Court sentenced Petitioner to twenty years of incarceration on Count One to run concurrently with his pending state sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, and imposed a $2,500.00 fine.

On January 22, 2009, Petitioner filed his notice of appeal, challenging both his conviction and his sentence. The Seventh Circuit affirmed his conviction on August 18, 2011, and modified his sentence to impose a term of three years of supervision upon his release from prison rather than five. United States v. Benabe, 436 Fed.Appx. 639, 660-62 (7th Cir.2011).

Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court on January 26, 2012.1 (R. 10, Pet’r’s Mot. at [833]*8331; R. 24, Pet’r’s Decl. ¶ 5.) He states that his original deadline for filing was January 26, 2012, but his petition was returned for corrections twice, and the Supreme Court extended his deadline for filing his certio-rari petition until July 14, 2012. (R. 10, Pet’r’s Mot. at 1-2.) Petitioner does not contend that he filed his corrected petition, nor was this Court able to locate a grant or denial of certiorari from the Supreme Court.

Petitioner filed the instant habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 on March 5, 2013. (R. 1, Pet’n.) On March 18, 2013, he filed an amended petition (the “Petition”), (R. 6, Am. Pet’n), and moved to toll the deadline for filing his petition, (R. 5, Mot. Toll Deadline). The Court denied Petitioner’s motion to toll the deadline and his amended petition on March 21, 2013. (R. 7, Min. Entry.) In its order, the Court stated:

After a careful review of Petitioner’s untimely motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 2255, said motion is denied with prejudice for the following reasons. The trial record and direct appeal opinion, U.S. v. Benabe, 654 F.3d 753 (7th Cir. 2011)[,] confirm that said untimely petition fails to assert any valid, non-waived constitutional error. The defendant received a fair trial and sentence while represented by two competent trial counsel.

(Id.) Petitioner now moves the Court to reconsider its denial of the Petition. (R. 10, Pet’r’s Mot.) Petitioner argues that the Petition was not untimely because he received multiple extensions from the Supreme Court to his deadline for filing his certiorari petition. (Id. at 2-3.) Petitioner additionally argues that the Court’s statement that Petitioner failed to “assert any valid, non-waived constitutional error” requires further explanation because Petitioner asserted valid constitutional claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and a Sixth Amendment violation at sentencing. (Id. at 3-8; R. 21, Pet’r’s Suppl. at 19-51.) Finally, Petitioner contends that even if the Court denies his section 2255 petition, it should correct his sentence to credit the time he served in state custody as part of his federal sentence. (R. 10, Pet’r’s Mot. at 8.)

Subsequent to and in support of his motion for reconsideration, Petitioner has filed two declarations, (R. 19; R. 24); a supplement, (R. 21); a special supplement regarding the applicability of Alleyne v. United States, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013), (R. 23); and an appendix to his statement of facts, (R. 26). The Court has considered these materials in its ruling.

LEGAL STANDARDS

A “motion to reconsider” does not exist under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Talano v. NW. Med. Faculty Found., 273 F.3d 757, 760 n. 1 (7th Cir. 2001). A motion that seeks to challenge the merits of a ruling by a district court will automatically be considered as having been filed under Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Mares v. Busby, 34 F.3d 533, 535 (7th Cir.1994) (“Though the plaintiffs did not file their motion to reconsider pursuant to any one of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the fact that it challenges the merits of the district court’s decision means that it must fall under Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b).” (internal quotation marks omitted)). When determining whether a motion to reconsider comes under Rule 59 or Rule 60, the substance of the motion [834]*834rather than the form is determinative. Obriecht v. Raemisch, 517 F.3d 489, 493 (7th Cir.2008). Because Petitioner challenges the Court’s substantive application of law, the Court treats his motion as one under Rule 59(e). Compare Fed.R.Civ.P.

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19 F. Supp. 3d 829, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67320, 2014 WL 1998242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/susinka-v-united-states-ilnd-2014.