United States v. Mitchell

218 F. Supp. 3d 360, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155883, 2016 WL 6656771
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 10, 2016
DocketCRIMINAL NO. 1:06-CR-353
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 3d 360 (United States v. Mitchell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mitchell, 218 F. Supp. 3d 360, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155883, 2016 WL 6656771 (M.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

Christopher C. Conner, Chief Judge

Defendant Helene Mitchell (“Mitchell”) pled guilty in December of 2006 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(e). Because Mitchell had three or more qualifying prior convictions under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA” or “the Act”), she received a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). Mitchell presently moves the court for vacatur of her fifteen-year sentence in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, — U.S. —, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015), which invalidated the ACCA’s residual clause as unconstitutionally vague. Id. at 2557. For the reasons that follow, the court will grant Mitchell’s motion (Doc. 83) and schedule resentencing forthwith.

I. Factual Background & Procedural History

On October 18, 2006, a federal grand jury sitting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, returned a two-count indictment against Mitchell and a codefendant, Robert Allen Boswell (“Boswell”). (Doc. 1). The indictment charged Mitchell in Count II with possession of firearms by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(e), to wit: a New England Firearms shotgun, a Stevens Brand shotgun, and two Marlin rifles. (Id.) Count I charged Boswell with the same offense. (Id.)

Mitchell executed a written plea agreement on December 14, 2006. (Doc. 29). During a guilty plea proceeding on December 20, 2006, the court advised Mitchell that her guilty plea would carry, inter alia, a mandatory minimum term of fifteen years’ imprisonment pursuant to the ACCA. Mitchell stated that she understood her sentencing exposure and entered a plea of guilty to Count II. (Doc. 38).

The United States Probation Office prepared a presentence report (“PSR”) which calculated Mitchell’s offense level and criminal history category pursuant to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The PSR initially reflected a total offense level of 23. However, Mitchell was subject to the ACCA and thus designated an armed career criminal pursuant to Guidelines § 4B1.4(b)(3)(B). Hence, the PSR upwardly adjusted her offense level to 30. With a criminal history category of Y, Mitchell’s Guidelines range at sentencing was 180 to 188 months. On May 3, 2007, the court sentenced Mitchell to the bottom of her Guidelines range, corresponding with the ACCA’s mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment. (Doc. 60). [365]*365Mitchell did not appeal her conviction or sentence to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Mitchell filed the instant motion (Doc. 83) to vacate her sentence on June 16, 2016, through appointed counsel. The motion is fully briefed and ripe for disposition. On October 24, 2016, Mitchell moved the court for immediate release on bond pending resolution of her underlying § 2265 motion. (Doc. 92). Mitchell contends that, but for the ACCA’s sentencing enhancement, she would have been subject to a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment. (Id.) Mitchell submits that, as of October 30, 2016, she has been in continuous custody for more than ten years. (Id.) Given the exigencies identified in Mitchell’s bond request, the court expedited its review and consideration of Mitchell’s underlying motion.

II. Standard of Review

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a federal prisoner may move the sentencing court to vacate, set aside, or correct the prisoner’s sentence. 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Courts may afford relief under § 2255 on a number of grounds including, inter alia, “that the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or the laws of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a); see also R. Governing § 2255 Cases 1(a). The statute provides that, as a remedy for an unlawfully-imposed sentence, “the court shall vacate and set the judgment aside and shall discharge the prisoner or resentence him or grant a new trial or correct the sentence as may appear appropriate.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(b).

III. Discussion

The ACCA compels a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment for defendants convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) who have acquired three prior, adult convictions for a “violent felony” or a “serious drug offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). The Act defines the term “violent felony” to include any offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year which falls within one of three categories: (1) crimes having “as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another”; (2) crimes of burglary, arson, or extortion, or which involve use of explosives; and (3) crimes which “otherwise involve[ ] conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” Id. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i)-(ii). Courts refer to the first clause as the “force clause,” the second as the “enumerated offenses clause,” and the third as the “residual clause.”

The Supreme Court in Johnson invalidated only the residual clause of the ACCA as unconstitutionally vague. Johnson, 135 S.Ct. at 2557. Consequently, a defendant may still qualify for an enhanced sentence under the ACCA if they have three or more prior, adult convictions which qualify under the force clause or the enumerated offenses clause. Id. at 2563. Johnson is retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review. Welch v. United States, — U.S. —, 136 S.Ct. 1257, 1265, 194 L.Ed.2d 387 (2016). Whether Mitchell’s prior offenses fall within either of the ACCA’s vestigial clauses is the central dispute sub judice.

Mitchell adjures that, in the wake of Johnson, her fifteen-year sentence violates the Constitution and laws of the United States and is in excess of the otherwise-applicable maximum sentence of ten years. (See Doc. 83 at 4). Mitchell concedes that her prior conviction for unlawful distribution of crack cocaine is a “serious drug offense” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A), constituting the first of three qualifying strikes against her under the ACCA. (Iff at 2 n.2). She maintains, however, that her three prior convictions for arson under Pennsylvania law are beyond the reach of both the enumerated [366]*366offenses clause and the force clause. (Id. at 5-9). It is on this basis that Mitchell challenges her enhanced sentence under the Act.

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Bluebook (online)
218 F. Supp. 3d 360, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155883, 2016 WL 6656771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mitchell-pamd-2016.