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tortpleamotionguilty pleapiracy
tortstatutemotionwillcorporationpiracy

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Seale v. United States, Not Reported in Fed. Supp., 2022 WL 18024217

Facts

In late 1991, Arthur D. Seale, a former security officer for Exxon, devised a plan to kidnap an Exxon executive, Sydney J. Reso, to obtain ransom money. Seale and his wife conducted surveillance and prepared for the kidnapping, which occurred on April 29, 1992, resulting in Reso being shot and later dying. Seale was charged with multiple counts, including Hobbs Act extortion and the use of a firearm in relation to the extortion, and was sentenced to 95 years in prison.

In late 1991, [Petitioner], a former security officer for Exxon Corporation[,] conceived a plan to kidnap an Exxon executive. His goal was to obtain a large sum of money to assist with his and his wife's financial problems.

Issue

Whether Seale's conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) should be vacated based on the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Davis, which invalidated the residual clause of § 924(c) as unconstitutionally vague.

Petitioner argues that his § 924(c) conviction must be vacated because his convictions for Hobbs Act extortion and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion no longer function as viable predicates for such a conviction in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Davis.

Rule

Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), a crime qualifies as a crime of violence only if it satisfies the elements clause or the residual clause. The Supreme Court in Davis invalidated the residual clause, leaving only the elements clause as a valid basis for a § 924(c) conviction.

Section 924(c) criminalizes the use, carrying or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence. The statute provides for higher mandatory minimum sentences in those cases in which the firearm in question is either brandished or discharged.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether Seale's underlying convictions for Hobbs Act extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion qualified as crimes of violence under the elements clause. The government conceded that these offenses did not qualify, but argued that Seale's admission during his guilty plea to committing and threatening violence in furtherance of extortion could support the § 924(c) conviction. However, the court found that Seale did not adequately admit to all elements of Hobbs Act robbery, which is necessary for a valid predicate offense under § 924(c).

Here, the Government concedes that neither Hobbs Act extortion itself nor conspiracy to commit such an extortion qualifies as a crime of violence under the elements clause.

Conclusion

The court granted Seale's motion to vacate his § 924(c) conviction and sentence, but denied his request for a full resentencing, concluding that the remaining sentences were not interdependent with the vacated count.

This Court will therefore grant Petitioner's motion to the extent he seeks the vacation of his § 924(c) conviction, vacate the five-year consecutive sentence imposed on that count, and leave Petitioner's remaining sentences intact.

Who won?

Arthur D. Seale prevailed in part, as the court vacated his § 924(c) conviction due to the lack of a valid predicate offense following the Davis decision.

[Petitioner] prevailed in part, as the court vacated his § 924(c) conviction due to the lack of a valid predicate offense following the Davis decision.

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