Jahns v. Julian
Jahns v. Julian
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner Jason Jahns seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to
A. Background
Jahns was charged in the Northern District of Ohio (Western Division) in No. 3:10-cr-00435-DAK with being a felon in possession of a firearm. See
At sentencing Jahns was deemed an armed career criminal,
Following the imposition of sentence, Jahns filed a direct appeal arguing that second-degree burglary in Kentucky is not a violent felony and that the ACCA's residual clause is unconstitutionally vague. The Sixth Circuit disagreed, concluding that the Kentucky statute describes generic burglary under Taylor v. United States,
Jahns then filed a motion for relief pursuant to
Following the Supreme Court's decision in *943Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----,
Although Johnson announced a new, substantive rule of constitutional law made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court, Welch v. United States , --- U.S. ----,136 S.Ct. 1257 , 1264-65,194 L.Ed.2d 387 (2016), it "d[id] not call into question application of the [ACCA] to the four enumerated offenses, or the remainder of the Act's definition of a violent felony." Johnson ,135 S.Ct. at 2563 . And in rejecting Jahns's direct appeal, we have already held that his prior Kentucky burglary convictions fall within the ACCA's enumerated-offenses clause. Jenkins ,528 Fed.Appx. at 485 . Therefore, the holding in Johnson does not apply to Jahns's sentence.
In re Jahns, No. 15-4103 (6th Cir. June 3, 2016).
On June 21, 2016, Jahns filed this petition under
B. Discussion
A motion pursuant to
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has identified the three requirements to invoke the Savings Clause:
*944In the wake of Davenport , we distilled that holding into a three-part test: a petitioner who seeks to invoke the savings clause of § 2255(e) in order to proceed under § 2241 must establish: (1) that he relies on "not a constitutional case, but a statutory-interpretation case, so [that he] could not have invoked it by means of a second or successive section 2255 motion," (2) that the new rule applies retroactively to cases on collateral review and could not have been invoked in his earlier proceeding, and (3) that the error is "grave enough ... to be deemed a miscarriage of justice corrigible therefore in a habeas corpus proceeding," such as one resulting in "a conviction for a crime of which he was innocent." Brown v. Rios ,696 F.3d 638 , 640 (7th Cir. 2012).
Montana v. Cross ,
1) Statutory-Interpretation Case
The parties agree that Jahns meets the first savings clause requirement. Jahns challenges his sentence under Mathis . In that case, the Supreme Court held that "[a] crime counts as 'burglary' under the Act if its elements are the same as, or narrower than, those of the generic offense. But if the crime of conviction covers any more conduct than the generic offense, then it is not an ACCA 'burglary'-even if the defendant's actual conduct (i.e., the facts of the crime) fits within the generic offense's boundaries." Mathis ,
2) Retroactivity
Next, in order to meet the second savings clause requirement Jahns must rely on a retroactive decision that he could not have invoked in a § 2255 motion. The United States argues in this case that Descamps and Mathis are not retroactive decisions. But other cases briefed by the respondent in this district concede Mathis appears to be retroactive. See e.g., Brown v. Krueger, 2:17-cv-240-WTL-MJD (Return to Order to Show Cause, dkt 18 at p. 7) (filed December 29, 2017).
This Court agrees with the petitioner and the respondent's briefing in other cases, that Mathis is a new substantive rule that should be applied retroactively in a § 2241 petition. Holt v. United States ,
A new rule is applied retroactively where "it places certain kinds of primary, private individual conduct beyond the power of criminal law-making authority to proscribe," and this concept extends to "rules prohibiting a certain category of punishment for a class of defendants because of their status or offense." Montgomery v. Louisiana , --- U.S. ----,
*945As applied to this case, Mathis reflects a new substantive rule which may be applied retroactively. Based on this change, Jahns argues that he is now innocent of the ACCA finding. Because he has no other avenue for attack, he has met the second criterion announced in Montana.
3) Miscarriage of Justice
The final question is whether there has been a miscarriage of justice.
The ACCA prescribes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence if a defendant is convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm following three prior convictions for a "violent felony." Mathis , 136 S.Ct. at 2248 (quoting § 924(e)(1) ). Absent that sentence enhancement, the felon-in-possession statute sets a 10-year maximum penalty. Id. § 924(a)(2).
At the time of Mr. Jahns's sentencing, the ACCA defined "violent felony" as "any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" that 1) "has as an element the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against the person of another;" 2) "is burglary, arson, or extortion, [or] involves the use of explosives;" or 3) "otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another." § 924(e)(2)(B). These three "clauses" are respectively known as 1) the elements clause, 2) the enumerated clause, and 3) the residual clause. In Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----,
The respondent argues that there is no miscarriage of justice in Mr. Jahns's case because he has "at least three qualifying predicate offenses" under either the elements clause or the enumerated clause. Mr. Jahns disagrees. As a starting point, Mr. Jahns has two Kentucky first degree burglary convictions. These convictions each count as a qualifying predicate offense under the elements clause. This is because first degree burglary has as an element the threatened use of physical force against the person of another. The next question is whether Kentucky's second degree burglary convictions are also qualifying predicate offenses. For the reasons explained below, they are not.
Kentucky's Second Degree Burglary Convictions
Mr. Jahns has two convictions for second degree burglary in Kentucky. Under the ACCA, burglary is an enumerated violent felony. However, merely because the state statute is labeled a "burglary" does not mean it will constitute a "violent felony." Taylor ,
Kentucky's second degree burglary statute states that "[a] person is guilty of burglary in the second degree when, with the intent to commit a crime, he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling." Ky. Rev. Stat. § 511.030. A "dwelling" is "a building which is usually occupied by a person lodging therein." And *946"building" means "any structure, vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft."
The Sixth Circuit previously held that a second-degree burglary conviction under Ky.Rev.Stat. § 511.030 is equivalent to the crime of burglary enumerated in the ACCA. See United States v. Jenkins ,
[T]he cases finding the Kentucky second-degree burglary statute to be generic made the same mistake we made in Nance -these unpublished opinions failed to look to the statutory definition of "dwelling." See United States v. Moody ,634 Fed.Appx. 531 , 534 (6th Cir. 2015) ; United States v. Jenkins ,528 Fed.Appx. 483 , 485 (6th Cir. 2013). Although Kentucky defines "dwelling" as "a building which is usually occupied by a person lodging therein," Ky. Rev. Stat. § 511.010(2), the statute further provides that " '[b]uilding,' in addition to its ordinary meaning, means any structure, vehicle, watercraft or aircraft: (a) Where any person lives; or (b) Where people assemble for purposes of business, government, education, religion, entertainment or public transportation." Ky. Rev. Stat. § 511.010(1). Thus, Kentucky's definition of a "dwelling" includes vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft, and is thus broader than the common-law meaning of dwelling.
United States v. Stitt ,
The finding that a conviction under Kentucky's second-degree burglary statute does not categorically qualify as a violent felony does not end the inquiry. Even if a state burglary statute criminalizes more conduct than generic burglary, it may do so by listing multiple elements in the alternative, thus setting forth different crimes, and one or more of those crimes might match the definition of generic burglary. Stitt ,
In conclusion, Jahns's second-degree burglary convictions do not count as predicate offenses under the ACCA.
Ohio Fourth Degree Burglary
Mr. Jahns argues that the Ohio trespass of a habitation conviction does not qualify as a predicate conviction under the ACCA because it is overbroad. As explained in above, generic burglary is the "unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime." Taylor ,
Ohio's burglary statute is found at Ohio Rev Code Ann. § 2911.12 and reads as follows:
*947A) No person, by force, stealth, or deception, shall do any of the following:
1) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion of an occupied structure, when another person other than an accomplice of the offender is present, with purpose to commit in the structure or in the separately secured or separately occupied portion of the structure any criminal offense;
2) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion of an occupied structure that is a permanent or temporary habitation of any person when any person other than an accomplice of the offender is present or likely to be present, with purpose to commit in the habitation any criminal offense;
3) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion of an occupied structure, with purpose to commit in the structure or separately secured or separately occupied portion of the structure any criminal offense;
4) Trespass in a permanent or temporary habitation of any person when any person other than an accomplice of the offender is present or likely to be present.
B) As used in this section, "occupied structure" has the same meaning as in section 2909.01 of the Revised Code.
C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of burglary. A violation of division (A)(1) or (2) of this section is a felony of the second degree. A violation of division (A)(3) of this section is a felony of the third degree. A violation of division (A)(4) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree.
The parties agree that this statute is divisible, and the Court does too. In this case, the Court may look at certain documents to determine under which section of the statute Mr. Jahns was convicted, and the parties agree he was convicted under the fourth degree trespass in habitation section, § (A)(4). This section of the statute defines a crime more broadly than generic burglary because it allows conviction without proof that the unlawful entry was with intent to commit a crime. State v. Woods ,
The respondent argues that Jahns's Pre Sentence Report should be considered to determine whether his conduct meets the generic definition of burglary as defined in Taylor -"an unlawful or unprivileged entry into ... a building or other structure, with intent to commit a crime." Taylor
For the reasons explained above, Jahns did not have three prior convictions for a violent felony under the ACCA. Without the necessary three predicate offenses, Jahns never should have been classified as an armed career criminal and never should have been subjected to the enhanced punishment reserved for such repetitive and violent offenders. See Narvaez v. United States ,
*948(finding misapplication of ACCA enhancement is a miscarriage of justice). Instead of being subjected to a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence enhancement, § 924(e)(1), Jahns should have faced only the felon-in-possession statute's 10-year maximum penalty. Mathis , 136 S.Ct. at 2248 ; § 924(a)(2). See also Welch v. United States ,
C. Conclusion
This Court finds that a remedy under
The petition for a writ of habeas corpus is granted. Final judgment will now issue. The final judgment will do two things. First, it will vacate the petitioner's ACCA enhanced sentence in No. 3:10-cr-00435-DAK. Second, it will direct that a copy of the Order and Judgment in this case be forwarded to the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Western Division) for filing in No. 3:10-cr-00435-DAK.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Respondent does not argue that the Kentucky second degree burglary statute should be considered under the elements clause, and indeed it cannot be.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jason JAHNS v. S. JULIAN, Warden
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published