Williams v. United States

In 2006, Williams pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm. He had prior Ohio convictions: attempted felonious assault, domestic violence, and assault on a peace officer, and was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months’ imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e) (ACCA). Williams twice, unsuccessfully moved to vacate his sentence. Subsequently, in "Johnson," the Supreme Court found ACCA's residual clause, section 924(e)(2)(B)(ii), unconstitutional and held that courts must apply Johnson retroactively. Williams filed a third motion, arguing that his prior convictions no longer counted as ACCA predicate offenses. The Sixth Circuit authorized the district court to consider whether Williams’ felonious assault conviction still qualified as an ACCA violent felony, noting its 2012 holding that Ohio felonious assault in Ohio requires the use of physical force and is an ACCA elements clause predicate offense. The district court held, and the Sixth Circuit agreed, that that the Johnson holding was not implicated. The en banc court then remanded. On remand, the panel vacated the sentence, first holding that Williams qualifies for review under 28 U.S.C. 2255. Williams was not convicted of an ostensibly enumerated crime and it seems clear that the judge relied decisively on the residual clause in determining that Williams’s conviction qualified as an ACCA predicate. View "Williams v. United States" on Justia Law