Michael Jackson v. Donald Hudson, Warden
HabeasCorpus Punishment
Whether a federal prisoner is entitled to bring a habeas claim under the saving clause of Section 2255(e) to challenge the unlawful application of a mandatory minimum sentence, and imposition of a sentence that exceeded the proper statutory maximum, when his challenge was previously precluded by binding circuit precedent that has since been overruled
QUESTION PRESENTED A person in federal custody may challenge the legality of his detention by filing a post-conviction motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Second or successive motions under that statute are typically prohibited. However, Section 2255(e) includes a saving clause that allows a prisoner to petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 if the Section 2255 remedy is “inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention.” The question presented is: Whether a federal prisoner is entitled to bring a habeas claim under the saving clause of Section 2255(e) to challenge the unlawful application of a mandatory minimum sentence, and imposition of a sentence that exceeded the proper statutory maximum, when his challenge was previously precluded by binding circuit precedent that has since been overruled by the circuit sitting en banc on the basis of an intervening decision of this Court.