United States v. Shea

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedMarch 30, 1999
Docket97-7292
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Shea (United States v. Shea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Shea, (4th Cir. 1999).

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. No. 97-7292 JOSEPH FRANCIS SHEA, a/k/a Diamond Joe, Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. J. Calvitt Clarke, Jr., Senior District Judge. (CR-93-55, CA-96-1198-2)

Submitted: November 17, 1998

Decided: March 30, 1999

Before ERVIN, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Dismissed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Joseph Francis Shea, Appellant Pro Se. Kevin Michael Comstock, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Norfolk, Vir- ginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________ Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Joseph F. Shea appeals the district court order denying relief on his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998). We grant a certificate of appealability as to whether Shea was deprived of effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment upon his claim that counsel did not inform him that the Government conceded there was no factual basis for count four of the indictment that charged Shea with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (1994). We also vacate that portion of the district court's order denying relief on this issue and remand for further proceedings in the district court. We deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal in all other respects.

The district court concluded that Shea's motion was barred by the one-year statute of limitations period of § 2255. Shea's conviction became final on May 31, 1994, and he filed the § 2255 motion on December 6, 1996. Shea filed an amended § 2255 motion and a motion for leave to file the amended motion on March 19, 1997, which the court granted on April 23, 1997, and ordered Shea to file a consolidated § 2255 motion including the claims raised in the initial and amended § 2255 motions. Shea filed his consolidated motion on June 30, 1997. The consolidated motion merely combined the claims raised in his initial and amended § 2255 motions. The court concluded that the statute of limitations began to run on May 4, 1994, when Shea's conviction became final. The court also concluded that the § 2255 motion was filed on June 30, 1997 and was therefore untimely.

The district court did not have the benefit of our recent opinion in Brown v. Angelone, 150 F.3d 370 (4th Cir. 1998). In Brown, this Court held that motions challenging convictions made final prior to the enactment of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

2 of 1996 ("AEDPA"), Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (effective Apr. 24, 1996) are timely, so long as the motion is filed on or before April 23, 1997. Shea's § 2255 motion, his amended § 2255 motion, and the court's granting of Shea's motion to amend his § 2255 motion were all filed on or before April 23, 1997. The consolidated § 2255 motion, filed on June 30, 1997, merely included claims which were previously filed with the court. We therefore conclude that Shea's § 2255 motion was filed within the one-year limitations period because all of his claims were filed on or before April 23, 1997.

Notwithstanding our conclusion that Shea's § 2255 motion was timely, the district court did not commit reversible error in dismissing the motion as to all of Shea's claims but one. Shea's claims concern- ing the alleged error in the judgment order, the decision to order that the federal sentences be served consecutively to the state sentence, and the failure to make factual findings before ordering restitution should have been raised on direct appeal. See Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 477 n.10 (1976). This Court did not consider the merits of Shea's appeal and dismissed the appeal because he knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal any sentence which fell below the statutory maximum. See United States v. Shea , 1994 WL 233531 (4th Cir. May 31, 1994) (No. 93-5850) (unpublished).

To obtain collateral relief based on errors not raised on appeal, Shea must show "cause" excusing his procedural default and "actual prejudice" resulting from the error of which he complains. See United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 167-68 (1982). Shea cannot show cause because he waived his right to appeal. See United States v. Pipitone, 67 F.3d 34, 39 (2d Cir. 1995). We therefore deny a certifi- cate of appealability and dismiss as to these claims.

As for Shea's claim that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his guilty plea to the § 924(c)(1) charge, our review of a transcript of the plea hearing discloses that Shea knew he was pleading guilty as an aider and abettor. Furthermore, Shea's reliance on Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137 (1995), is misplaced. Bailey did not alter aiding and abetting liability for § 924(c)(1) violations. See, e.g., United States v. Wilson, 135 F.3d 291, 305 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, ___U.S. ___, 66 U.S.L.W. 3758 (U.S. May 26, 1998) (No. 97-8750); see also Barrett v. United States, 120 F.3d 900, 901 (8th Cir. 1997) (per

3 curiam). Shea's challenge to the court's subject matter jurisdiction must also fail since Shea conceded at the guilty plea hearing that the jewels traveled in interstate commerce. See United States v. Paredes, 139 F.3d 840, 843-44 (11th Cir. 1998) (minimal impact on interstate commerce is sufficient to give the court subject matter jurisdiction). In addition, there is no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. The Government informed Shea's counsel that there was no factual basis for one of the § 924(c)(1) charges as soon as it discovered the defi- ciency. We therefore deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal as to all of these claims as well.

As for Shea's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, however, we find that Shea has made a substantial showing of denial of a constitu- tional right, and we grant a certificate of appealability as to this claim. Shea had a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel at the guilty plea hearing. See Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58-59 (1985).

Shea was indicted on numerous charges resulting from two rob- beries, including two violations of using a weapon during a crime of violence in violation of § 924(c)(1). He agreed to plead guilty to two charges in the indictment, including one of the§ 924(c)(1) charges, in exchange for the Government's dismissal of the remaining charges.

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Related

United States v. Paredes
139 F.3d 840 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Stone v. Powell
428 U.S. 465 (Supreme Court, 1976)
United States v. Frady
456 U.S. 152 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Hill v. Lockhart
474 U.S. 52 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Bailey v. United States
516 U.S. 137 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Dennis L. Barrett v. United States
120 F.3d 900 (Eighth Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Wilson
135 F.3d 291 (Fourth Circuit, 1998)

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