United States v. Hines

150 F. Supp. 3d 1227, 2015 WL 8668222, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166502
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedDecember 11, 2015
DocketNo. 2:03-cr-02023-SAB
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 150 F. Supp. 3d 1227 (United States v. Hines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hines, 150 F. Supp. 3d 1227, 2015 WL 8668222, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166502 (E.D. Wash. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING 28 U.S.C. § 2255 PETITION TO VACATE SENTENCE AND FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stanley A. Bastían, United States District Judge ' -

• On December 9, 2015, the Court held a hearing on Petitioner’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Petition to Vacate Sentence and for Immediate Release. ECF No. 138. The Government was represented by Ian Garriques, the defendant was represented by Meredith B. Esser and Alison K. Guernsey; Petitioner was not present. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 43.

In 2003, Petitioner was convicted, on one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and one count of False Statement in Acquisition of Firearm, § 922(a)(6). Each of those crimes normally carries a statutory maximum sentence of ten. years imprisonment. Petitioner had previous convictions for Second Degree Burglary in Washington which were determined to be qualifying offenses under the Armed Career Criminal Act. (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. §.924(e)(2)(B). Under the ACCA sentencing enhancement, Petitioner was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of fifteen years imprisonment..

. Petitioner brings this successive petition for habeas corpus alleging that — in light of Johnson v. United States, — U.S. -, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015)—he is actually innocent of . the ACCA enhancement and has served a sentence in-excess of the ten-year maximum sentence that would have been applicable absent the enhancement. For purposes of this Petition, the Government concedes the Petition is properly before the court procedurally.

Analysis

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a prisoner in custody pursuant tó a judgment and sentence imposed by a federal court, who claims the right' to be released because his sentence was imposed in .violation of the Constitution of laws of the United States, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, may move the court that imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside, or correct the sentence.

To determine whether the ACCA enhancement applies to Petitioner in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Johnson — yvhich held a -portion of the ACCA was unconstitutional — the Court must determine if Petitioner’s previous convictions for Second Degree Burglary constitute “violent. felon[ies].” The Court begins with the “categorical approach” where it must compare the elements of the Second Degree Burglary statute to the “generic crime” of burglary. Descamps v. United States, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. [1229]*12292276, 2281, 186 L.Ed.2d 438 (2013). The prior conviction qualifies as an ACCA predicate only if the statute’s elements are the same as, or narrower than, the elements of the generic offense. Id. In other words, if any conduct that could be prohibited by the state statute would always also be prohibited by the generic offense, then the state statute is a categorical match. If conduct could'be illegal under the state statute but not covered by the generic offense, there is no categorical match.

If the prior convictions are not a categorical match, the Court must determine if the state statute is divisible or indivisible. If the statute is divisible, the Court applies the “modified categorical approach.” Id, at 2281-82'. The modified categorical approach allows the sentencing court to consult a limited set of documents — such as jury instructions and indictments — to determine whieh portion of the divisible statute the defendant was actually convicted ünder. Id.

Here, the Washington state second degree burglary statute is at issue. The former RCW 9A.52.030(1), stated: “[a] person is guilty of burglary in the second degree if, with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein, he enters or remains unlawfully in a building other than a vehicle.” State v. Deitchler, 75 Wash.App. 134, 136, 876 P.2d 970 (quoting former RCW 9A.52.030(1)). The relevant definitions statute provides:

“Building,” in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes any dwelling, fenced area, .vehicle, railway, car, cargo container, or any other structure used for lodging of persons or for carrying of business therein, or for the use, sale, or deposit of goods; each unit of a building consisting of two or more units separately secured or occupied is a separate building.”

RCW 9A.04.110. Generic burglary, or the federal definition of burglary, includes “unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime.” Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2283.

Both the Petitioner and the United States concur that Washington’s second degree burglary statute, as it was when Petitioner was convicted, is not a categorical match with generic burglary — the Court agrees. The state burglary statute is not a categorical match because it encompasses physical areas that are not covered under generic burglary. For instance, the state statute covers “fenced area[s] ... railway car[s], [and] cargo containers,” whereas the generic definition does not include those types of spaces. United States v. Wenner, 351 F.3d 969, 972-73 (9th Cir.2003); see also Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990).

Next, the Court must determine if the Washington statute is divisible, and, if so, apply the modified categorical approach to determine- whether Petitioner’s prior convictions constitute predicates- for the ACCA enhancement. See Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2276, 2281-82. A statute is divisible when it contains alternative 'elements. Id. at 2285. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently expounded upon the test to determine whether a statute is divisible in Rendon v. Holder, 764 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir.2014). In Rendon, the Court of Appeals explained “while indivisible statutes may contain multiple, -alternative means of committing the crime, only divisible statutes contain multiple alternative elements of functionally separate- crimes.” Id. at 1085. A statute that refers to multiple alternative means of commission is still indivisible if the jurors need not agree-on which method .of committing the offense the defendant performed. Id. In other [1230]*1230words, if a statute prohibited “taking or keeping” an item, the statute would be divisible if all jurors had to agree on the issue of whether the defendant took the item or whether he kept the item.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
150 F. Supp. 3d 1227, 2015 WL 8668222, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166502, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hines-waed-2015.