No. 18-9211

Leon Escourse-Westbrook v. United States

Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: 2019-05-09
Status: GVR
Type: IFP
Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP
Tags: 18-usc-924(c) categorical-approach certificate-of-appealability collateral-review conduct-based-approach constitutional-law crime-of-violence residual-clause retroactivity vagueness vagueness-doctrine
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus Securities
Latest Conference: 2019-10-01 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the 'crime of violence' definition in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is unconstitutionally vague

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW 1. In Sessions v. Dimaya, 1388 S. Ct. 1204 (2018), this Court held the “crime of violence” definition in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) void for vagueness for the same reasons it held 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) void for vagueness in Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2551 (2015). This was a “straightforward application” of Johnson, the Court explained, since — just like the ACCA’s residual clause — § 16(b)’s residual clause required the court to identify a crime’s “ordinary case” in order to measure the crime’s risk under the categorical approach, and also employed an “ill-defined risk threshold,” which together conspired to make § 16(b) unconstitutionally vague and void just like § 924(e)(2)(B)(@ii). 138 S.Ct. 1215-16, 1223 (citing Johnson, 135 S. Ct. at 2557). In United States v. Davis, 139 S.Ct. 782 (U.S. Jan. 4, 2019) (No. 18-431), the Court will resolve whether the “crime of violence” definition 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B), a provision worded identically to § 16(b), is unconstitutionally vague for the above reasons, or whether the Court can avoid declaring that provision unconstitutionally vague by reinterpreting § 924(c)(3)(B) to permit a “conduct-based” approach instead of the categorical approach. However, since Davis is a direct appeal case, it will not likely resolve the following questions which will be crucial after Davis for cases on collateral review: A. If Davis holds § 924(c)(3)(B) is unconstitutionally vague, is that ruling retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review? i B. If Davis reinterprets § 924(c)(3)(B) to require a “conduct-based” approach because the statute is unconstitutionally vague under the categorical approach, does a § 2255 petition challenging a conviction under the unconstitutional categorical approach “contain ... anew rule of constitutional law” as required by § 2255(h)(2)? 2. Did the Eleventh Circuit err under Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-338 (2003) and Buck v. Davis, 1387 S.Ct. 759, 773-774 (2017) in denying Petitioner a certificate of appealability based implicitly upon adverse circuit precedent, when the above issues are nonetheless debatable among reasonable jurists? ii INTERESTED PARTIES There are no

Docket Entries

2019-11-08
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
2019-10-07
Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of United States v. Davis, 588 U. S. ___ (2019).
2019-09-12
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/1/2019.
2019-08-28
Response to petition from respondent United States filed.
2019-07-16
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including August 28, 2019.
2019-07-15
Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 29, 2019 to August 28, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
2019-06-19
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 29, 2019.
2019-06-18
Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 28, 2019 to July 29, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
2019-05-29
Response Requested. (Due June 28, 2019)
2019-05-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2019.
2019-05-15
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2019-05-07
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due June 10, 2019)
2019-03-27
Application (18A973) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until May 7, 2019.
2019-03-22
Application (18A973) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 7, 2019 to May 7, 2019, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Leon Escourse-Westbrook
Robin FarnsworthFederal Public Defender's Office, Petitioner
Robin FarnsworthFederal Public Defender's Office, Petitioner
United States
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent