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Keywords

tortstatuteappealpleamotionfelony

tortpleamotionfelony

Related Cases

Raines v. United States, 898 F.3d 680

Facts

In 2012, Raines pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. The district court sentenced him to 180 months under the ACCA, citing three prior convictions, including one for collecting credit by extortionate means. Raines later filed a motion to vacate his sentence, arguing that his extortion conviction should not count as a violent felony under the ACCA following the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson, which invalidated the ACCA's residual clause.

In 2012, Raines pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and one count of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).

Issue

Whether Raines's conviction for collecting credit by extortionate means qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA after the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson.

The government argues that Raines cannot claim an entitlement to relief under Johnson: because Raines's sentencing record is silent as to which of the ACCA's clauses the district court relied upon in treating his extortionate-collection charge as a violent felony.

Rule

A violent felony under the ACCA is defined as any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person, or is an enumerated offense such as extortion.

Under the ACCA, a person who violates § 922(g) and has three prior convictions for violent felonies, serious drug offenses, or both, is subject to a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Analysis

The court applied the categorical approach to determine whether Raines's conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 894(a)(1) qualified as a violent felony. It concluded that the statute does not require the use of physical force as an element, and thus, Raines's conviction did not meet the criteria for a violent felony under the ACCA. The court also found that the conviction was broader than the generic definition of extortion, which requires the victim's consent.

Under the categorical approach, Raines's prior § 894(a)(1) conviction does not qualify as a violent felony under § 924(e)'s use-of-force clause because the offense does not 'ha[ve] as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.'

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's judgment denying Raines's motion and remanded for resentencing without the ACCA enhancement.

Accordingly, we DENY Raines's request for oral argument, REVERSE the district court's judgment denying his § 2255 motion, and REMAND to the district court so that Raines may be resentenced without the ACCA enhancement.

Who won?

Damon Tonyado Raines prevailed because the court found that his prior conviction did not qualify as a violent felony under the ACCA, thus invalidating the basis for his enhanced sentence.

Raines is therefore entitled to relief under Johnson.

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