United States v. Hoopes

195 F. Supp. 3d 1161, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87090, 2016 WL 3638114
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJuly 5, 2016
DocketNo. 3:11-cr-00425-HZ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 195 F. Supp. 3d 1161 (United States v. Hoopes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hoopes, 195 F. Supp. 3d 1161, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87090, 2016 WL 3638114 (D. Or. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

Marco A. Hernandez, United States District Judge

On January 10, 2012, Defendant Ben Walter Hoopes pleaded guilty to a single count of bank robbery as charged in the indictment. He was sentenced on April 27, 2012. A Judgment of Conviction was filed on May 1, 2012.

Defendant moves to vacate or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Defendant filed the motion pro se. I granted his motion to appoint counsel and he is now represented by the Federal Public Defender’s Office. Defendant argues that the increase in his sentence caused by the application of the “residual clause” of the Career Offender provision of the United States Sentencing Guidelines’s (“the Guidelines” or “U.S.S.G”), is unconstitutional under Johnson v. United States, — U.S.—, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015). The Government agrees that the [1162]*1162effect of Johnson invalidates the Career Offender provision’s residual clause. The Government argues, however, that Defendant cannot raise the argument in a § 2255 collateral attack. The Government also contends that in his plea agreement, Defendant waived his right to file a § 2255 motion.

For the reasons explained below, I agree with Defendant. Defendant did not waive the right to challenge the unconstitutionality of his sentence and the holding in Johnson may be retroactively applied in a collateral attack on the Guidelines. Therefore, I grant the motion to vacate.

I. Defendant’s Sentence

In the plea agreement, the parties acknowledged them belief that Defendant is a Careér Offender under the Guidelines. Plea Agrmt. ¶ 6; ECF 16. This belief was based on Defendant’s 1999 robbery conviction in Wyoming and his 2006 Idaho conviction for eluding a police officer. Presen-tence Report (PSR) ¶¶24, 39-40; Def.’s Reply, Ex. B; ECF 39 (Filed Under Seal). The parties agreed that application of the Career Offender provision resulted in a base offense level of 32. Plea Agrmt. ¶ 6. The PSR reached the same conclusion regarding Defendant’s Career Offender status and the resulting base level calculation. PSR ¶24, I agreed with the parties and the PSR.

After a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, Defendant’s total offense level was 29. PSR ¶¶ 14, 24. His criminal history category was V, but the application of the Career Offender provision raised it to VI, PSR ¶ 44; U.S.S.G. § 4Bl.l(b). This produced an advisory sentencing range of 151 to 188 months. PSR ¶71. In accordance with the plea agreement, the Government recommended a two-level downward variance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and the low end of .the adjusted range. Plea Agrmt. ¶ 8 (based on § 3553(a) factors and Defendant’s “super acceptance of responsibility” Government agreed to recommend two-level downward variance if Defendant was determined to be a Career Offender); Gov’t Sentencing Mem. 5-6; ECF 21. At sentencing, I accepted the Government’s recommendation. I then determined an additional variance was warranted and imposed a 100-month sentence. Jdgmt; ECF 23. Absent application of the Career Offender enhancement, Defendant’s offense level would have been 19 instead of 29, and his criminal history category would have been V instead of VI, producing an advisory guideline range of 57-71 months. PSR ¶¶ 23, 44.

II. Johnson and Welch

In Johnson, the.Supreme Court considered the constitutional validity of the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B). 135 S.Ct. at 2555. There, the defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Violations of § 922(g) carry a ten-year maximum sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2). However, under the relevant ACCA provision, if the defendant has three or more earlier convictions for a “serious drug offense” or a “violent felony,” the minimum term is fifteen years. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1), In Johnson, the district court imposed a fifteen-year prison term under the ACCA, based on the conclusion that three of the defendant’s previous offenses qualified as “violent felonies.” Id. at 2556. The Eighth Circuit affirmed and the Supreme Court granted certiorari. Id.

Under the ACCA, a “violent felony” is any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that “(i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; or (ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that [1163]*1163presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another[J” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B); U.S.S.G. § 481.2(a). The language in subsection (ii) following the enumerated list of crimes and beginning with “or otherwise,” is known as the “residual clause.” Johnson, 135 S.Ct. at 2556. The Guidelines’s Career Offender definition for “crime of violence” is nearly identical to the ACCA’s definition of “violent felony” and it includes the identical “residual clause.” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a).

• Although the Supreme Court had previously “decided four cases attempting to discern ... [the] meaning [of the residual clause,]” id. the Johnson Court concluded that “the indeterminancy of the wide-ranging inquiry required by the residual clause both denies fair notice to defendants and invites arbitrary enforcement by judges.” Id. at 2557. As a result, “[increasing a defendant’s sentence under the clause denies due process of law” in violation of the Constitution. Id. The Court held that “imposing an increased sentence under the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act violates the Constitution’s guarantee of due process.” Id. at 2563. The Court overruled its previous contrary holdings, made clear that its ruling did not affect the ACCA’s application to the four enumerated offenses or the remainder of its definition of violent felony, and reversed and remanded the case. Id.

Defendant filed his: pro se § 2255 petition contending that Johnson invalidated the Guidelines’s identical “crime of violence” residual clause definition and thus, his sentence was illegal. He further contends that Johnson should be applied retroactively in the contéxt of this § 2255 petition.

On April 28, 2016, after Defendant’s pro se filing and after the Government’s Response was filed, the Supreme Court decided Welch v. United States, in which the Court concluded that Johnson could be retroactively applied on collateral review in ACCA residual clause enhancement cases. — U.S.—, 136 S.Ct. 1257, 194 L.Ed.2d 387 (2016). The Government here contends that a different result is warranted under the Guidelines. Defendant takes the opposite position.

III. Teague—Retroactive Application on Collateral Review

In Welch, the Court assumed without deciding that the “normal framework” established by Teague v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
195 F. Supp. 3d 1161, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87090, 2016 WL 3638114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hoopes-ord-2016.