FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT October 7, 2019 _________________________________ Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 17-4160 v. (D.C. Nos. 2:16-CV-00662-JNP & 2:93-CR-00281-JNP-1) ALFRED RAY CESSPOOCH, (D. Utah)
Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________
ORDER _________________________________
Before HOLMES, BACHARACH, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges. _________________________________
The issue in this appeal involves the timeliness of Mr. Alfred Ray
Cesspooch’s motion to vacate his sentence. The district court dismissed the
motion on the ground that the limitations period had expired. Mr.
Cesspooch wants to appeal; to do so, he requests a certificate of
appealability and initial consideration en banc. We deny the request for a
certificate, dismiss the appeal, and deny the request for initial
consideration en banc as moot because absent the grant of a certificate we
do not have jurisdiction over the merits of this appeal.
Mr. Cesspooch committed the offense in 1993; at that time, the
United States Sentencing Guidelines were considered mandatory. See, e.g.,
Burns v. United States, 501 U.S. 129, 133 (1991), abrogated on other grounds, Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 820-21 (2010). These
guidelines treated an offense as a crime of violence if the offense created
“a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” USSG §
4B1.2(a)(1)(ii) (1993). 1 (This provision is commonly known as the
“residual clause.”)
The guidelines are now considered advisory rather than mandatory.
See United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 237–39 (2005). After they
became advisory, the Supreme Court rejected a vagueness challenge to the
guidelines’ residual clause. Beckles v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 886, 890,
892, 894–95 (2017). But the Supreme Court has not squarely addressed a
vagueness challenge to the guidelines when they were considered
mandatory. See id. at 903 n.4 (Sotomayor, J., concurring).
Mr. Cesspooch contends that given the mandatory nature of the
guidelines in 1993, their residual clause should be subject to a vagueness
challenge. For this contention, Mr. Cesspooch likens the guidelines’
residual clause to an identical statutory clause in the Armed Career
Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii)), which was struck down in
Johnson v. United States as unconstitutionally vague. 135 S. Ct. 2551,
2563 (2015).
1 The sentencing court used the 1993 version of the guidelines.
2 To raise this contention on appeal, Mr. Cesspooch needs a certificate
of appealability. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003). This
certificate is available only if Mr. Cesspooch shows that reasonable jurists
could debate the correctness of the district court’s ruling. Slack v.
McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 483–84 (2000). We conclude that Mr. Cesspooch
has not made this showing.
A motion to vacate the sentence is ordinarily due one year from when
the judgment became final. 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(1). An exception exists
when the defendant relies on a new rule of constitutional law that has been
deemed retroactive to cases on collateral review. 28 U.S.C. 2255(f)(3). Mr.
Cesspooch invokes this exception here based on Johnson. Though Johnson
did not address the sentencing guidelines, our later opinion in United
States v. Greer did, holding that Johnson had not set out a new
constitutional rule applicable to the guidelines when they were considered
mandatory. 881 F.3d 1241, 1247–49 (10th Cir.), cert denied, 139 S. Ct. 374
(2018).
The defendant argues that Greer was abrogated by Sessions v.
Dimaya. In Dimaya, the Supreme Court applied Johnson to the definition
of a “crime of violence” in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S.
Ct. 1204, 1213–16 (2018). But after the Supreme Court decided Sessions v.
Dimaya, we reiterated in United States v. Pullen that Johnson had not
3 created a new rule of constitutional law applicable to the mandatory
guidelines. United States v. Pullen, 913 F.3d 1270, 1284 n.17 (10th Cir.
2019), petition for cert. filed (U.S. July 17, 2019) (No. 19-5219). So
Dimaya does not allow Mr. Cesspooch to invoke § 2255(f)(3) based on
Johnson.
Given our decisions in Greer and Pullen, we start the one-year period
of limitations from the date on which the conviction became final, not from
the date on which Johnson was decided. Applying this limitations period,
any reasonable jurist would conclude that Mr. Cesspooch’s motion to
vacate was untimely.
Mr. Cesspooch’s sentence became final in 1998. United States v.
Cesspooch, 145 F.3d 1346 (1998) (unpublished). He then had one year to
move to vacate his sentence; but he waited nearly seventeen years, missing
the limitations period by about sixteen years. Because Mr. Cesspooch’s
motion was indisputably untimely, we (1) decline to issue a certificate of
appealability, (2) dismiss the appeal, and (3) deny the request for initial
consideration en banc as moot because absent the grant of a certificate we
Entered for the Court
Per Curiam
4 United States v. Cesspooch, No. 17-4160, Bacharach, J., dissenting.
I agree with the majority that Mr. Cesspooch’s claim fails under
Greer and Pullen. But I believe that Mr. Cesspooch has satisfied the low
threshold for a certificate of appealability.
As the majority explains, the issue for a certificate is whether
“reasonable jurists could debate the correctness of the district court’s
ruling.” Maj. Order at 3 (citing Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 483–84
(2000)). In my view, reasonable jurists could consider the underlying issue
debatable if presented to the en banc court. 1 See United States v. Crooks,
769 F. App’x 569, 571-72 (10th Cir. 2019) (unpublished) (granting a
certificate of appealability on the same issue); 2 see also Jordan v. Fisher,
135 S. Ct. 2647, 2651 (2015) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting from the denial of
cert.) (arguing that the Fifth Circuit should have granted a certificate of
appealability, though the claim was foreclosed by a Fifth Circuit
1 Mr. Cesspooch has requested an initial en banc, which we can consider only upon the issuance of a certificate of appealability. Even if this request is denied, however, Mr.
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FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT October 7, 2019 _________________________________ Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 17-4160 v. (D.C. Nos. 2:16-CV-00662-JNP & 2:93-CR-00281-JNP-1) ALFRED RAY CESSPOOCH, (D. Utah)
Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________
ORDER _________________________________
Before HOLMES, BACHARACH, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges. _________________________________
The issue in this appeal involves the timeliness of Mr. Alfred Ray
Cesspooch’s motion to vacate his sentence. The district court dismissed the
motion on the ground that the limitations period had expired. Mr.
Cesspooch wants to appeal; to do so, he requests a certificate of
appealability and initial consideration en banc. We deny the request for a
certificate, dismiss the appeal, and deny the request for initial
consideration en banc as moot because absent the grant of a certificate we
do not have jurisdiction over the merits of this appeal.
Mr. Cesspooch committed the offense in 1993; at that time, the
United States Sentencing Guidelines were considered mandatory. See, e.g.,
Burns v. United States, 501 U.S. 129, 133 (1991), abrogated on other grounds, Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 820-21 (2010). These
guidelines treated an offense as a crime of violence if the offense created
“a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” USSG §
4B1.2(a)(1)(ii) (1993). 1 (This provision is commonly known as the
“residual clause.”)
The guidelines are now considered advisory rather than mandatory.
See United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 237–39 (2005). After they
became advisory, the Supreme Court rejected a vagueness challenge to the
guidelines’ residual clause. Beckles v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 886, 890,
892, 894–95 (2017). But the Supreme Court has not squarely addressed a
vagueness challenge to the guidelines when they were considered
mandatory. See id. at 903 n.4 (Sotomayor, J., concurring).
Mr. Cesspooch contends that given the mandatory nature of the
guidelines in 1993, their residual clause should be subject to a vagueness
challenge. For this contention, Mr. Cesspooch likens the guidelines’
residual clause to an identical statutory clause in the Armed Career
Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii)), which was struck down in
Johnson v. United States as unconstitutionally vague. 135 S. Ct. 2551,
2563 (2015).
1 The sentencing court used the 1993 version of the guidelines.
2 To raise this contention on appeal, Mr. Cesspooch needs a certificate
of appealability. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003). This
certificate is available only if Mr. Cesspooch shows that reasonable jurists
could debate the correctness of the district court’s ruling. Slack v.
McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 483–84 (2000). We conclude that Mr. Cesspooch
has not made this showing.
A motion to vacate the sentence is ordinarily due one year from when
the judgment became final. 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(1). An exception exists
when the defendant relies on a new rule of constitutional law that has been
deemed retroactive to cases on collateral review. 28 U.S.C. 2255(f)(3). Mr.
Cesspooch invokes this exception here based on Johnson. Though Johnson
did not address the sentencing guidelines, our later opinion in United
States v. Greer did, holding that Johnson had not set out a new
constitutional rule applicable to the guidelines when they were considered
mandatory. 881 F.3d 1241, 1247–49 (10th Cir.), cert denied, 139 S. Ct. 374
(2018).
The defendant argues that Greer was abrogated by Sessions v.
Dimaya. In Dimaya, the Supreme Court applied Johnson to the definition
of a “crime of violence” in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S.
Ct. 1204, 1213–16 (2018). But after the Supreme Court decided Sessions v.
Dimaya, we reiterated in United States v. Pullen that Johnson had not
3 created a new rule of constitutional law applicable to the mandatory
guidelines. United States v. Pullen, 913 F.3d 1270, 1284 n.17 (10th Cir.
2019), petition for cert. filed (U.S. July 17, 2019) (No. 19-5219). So
Dimaya does not allow Mr. Cesspooch to invoke § 2255(f)(3) based on
Johnson.
Given our decisions in Greer and Pullen, we start the one-year period
of limitations from the date on which the conviction became final, not from
the date on which Johnson was decided. Applying this limitations period,
any reasonable jurist would conclude that Mr. Cesspooch’s motion to
vacate was untimely.
Mr. Cesspooch’s sentence became final in 1998. United States v.
Cesspooch, 145 F.3d 1346 (1998) (unpublished). He then had one year to
move to vacate his sentence; but he waited nearly seventeen years, missing
the limitations period by about sixteen years. Because Mr. Cesspooch’s
motion was indisputably untimely, we (1) decline to issue a certificate of
appealability, (2) dismiss the appeal, and (3) deny the request for initial
consideration en banc as moot because absent the grant of a certificate we
Entered for the Court
Per Curiam
4 United States v. Cesspooch, No. 17-4160, Bacharach, J., dissenting.
I agree with the majority that Mr. Cesspooch’s claim fails under
Greer and Pullen. But I believe that Mr. Cesspooch has satisfied the low
threshold for a certificate of appealability.
As the majority explains, the issue for a certificate is whether
“reasonable jurists could debate the correctness of the district court’s
ruling.” Maj. Order at 3 (citing Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 483–84
(2000)). In my view, reasonable jurists could consider the underlying issue
debatable if presented to the en banc court. 1 See United States v. Crooks,
769 F. App’x 569, 571-72 (10th Cir. 2019) (unpublished) (granting a
certificate of appealability on the same issue); 2 see also Jordan v. Fisher,
135 S. Ct. 2647, 2651 (2015) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting from the denial of
cert.) (arguing that the Fifth Circuit should have granted a certificate of
appealability, though the claim was foreclosed by a Fifth Circuit
1 Mr. Cesspooch has requested an initial en banc, which we can consider only upon the issuance of a certificate of appealability. Even if this request is denied, however, Mr. Cesspooch should at least have an opportunity to seek rehearing en banc, where he could urge reconsideration of the holding in Greer or Pullen. As an en banc court, we might or might not decide to revisit these issues. But Mr. Cesspooch cannot even ask us to convene as an en banc court in the absence of a certificate of appealability. Thus, denial of a certificate effectively prevents Mr. Cesspooch from asking the en banc court to revisit the holding in Greer or Pullen. 2 We also granted a certificate of appealability on this issue in United States v. Ford, No. 17-1122, slip op. at *3 (10th Cir. Aug. 8, 2019). precedent, because judges elsewhere had found the same claim reasonably
debatable). 3 I would thus grant a certificate of appealability 4 and affirm the
dismissal of Mr. Cesspooch’s motion to vacate his sentence.
3 I do not suggest that we should grant a certificate of appealability based solely on the fact that judges in our court have granted certificates on the same issue. See Griffin v. Sec’y, 787 F.3d 1086 (11th Cir. 2015). “If the fact that one or more judges had granted a [certificate of appealability] on an issue, or even concluded that the issue had merit, required all other judges to grant a [certificate of appealability] on the issue, the standard would be transformed from objective to subjective. It is not a subjective standard.” Id. at 1095. I simply note that
some judges in our court have regarded the same issue reasonably debatable even after Greer and Pullen,
the en banc court need not be constrained by Greer or Pullen,
Mr. Cesspooch has already asked for en banc consideration and, if we were to grant a certificate, he could ask again after issuance of the panel’s order. 4 Mr. Cesspooch’s motion is his fifth motion to vacate his sentence. If he were to obtain a certificate of appealability, we could reach the merits only if we were to grant leave to pursue a second or successive motion. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255(h)(2). The majority’s dismissal of the appeal obviates our need to consider the possibility of leave to file a successive motion to vacate the sentence.