United States v. Walls
United States v. Walls
Opinion of the Court
On November 27, 2017, this Court granted Petitioner's motion to correct, vacate, or set aside his sentence under
DISCUSSION
The Government moves for reconsideration on three grounds. First, it argues that Petitioner waived his due process claim because sentencing errors are "generally not cognizable" if never raised at sentencing or on direct appeal. (Gov't Br. 3.) Second, the Government argues that the Due Process Clause affords Petitioner no relief because his plea agreement and sentence were merely the results of his "inaccurate predictions" and "risk avoidance." (Gov't Br. 9-12.) Finally, the Government argues that this Court overlooked two relevant cases from within the district, United States v. Knight , No. 3:14-cr-00152-BR (D. Or. Aug. 17, 2017) and United States v. Hill , No. 3:12-cr-00276-MO (D. Or. July 25, 2017), and that the Court's ruling creates an intolerable intra-district conflict. (Gov't Br. 1-3.)
*1253To alter or amend a final judgment is "an extraordinary remedy" and must be used "sparingly in the interests of finality and conservation of judicial resources." Kona Enters., Inc. v. Estate of Bishop ,
After careful consideration, the Court finds that the Government has not carried its burden. As the Court outlined in its first Opinion and Order, most lower courts to have examined the issue within the Ninth Circuit have vacated petitioners' sentences if they were imposed under threat of an unconstitutional ACCA enhancement. United States v. Terrell ,
The two intra-district cases cited by the Government are both distinguishable and do not bind this Court. To begin, neither Judge Mosman nor Judge Brown focused their opinions on the question currently before the Court. Specifically, Judge Mosman denied the petitioner's motion by minute order, making the basis for his opinion unclear, and Judge Brown based her decision on the distinct issue of timeliness; neither addressed whether the risk of unconstitutional prosecution under the ACCA independently produces a due process violation. More importantly, whereas the Knight and Hill petitioners accepted below- Guidelines sentences, Mr. Walls agreed to a significant upward variance. The sentencing record, unlike that in Knight and Hill , clearly reflects that Mr. Walls agreed to this upward variance specifically to avoid the risk of ACCA exposure. In fact, the Government urged the Knight and Hill courts to deny relief based on this precise distinction. Gov't Br. 12, Hill , No. 3:12-cr-00276-MO ("This is not a situation where the potential applicability of the ACCA led the defendant to agree to or the Court to impose a sentence above the advisory sentencing guideline range."); Gov't Br. 5, Knight , No. 3:14-cr-00152-BR ("[T]here is no evidence in the record that the Court's decision to impose *1254a low-end advisory guideline sentence was [intended] to avoid a sentence under the ACCA.")
The Government's other arguments, which should have been presented earlier in the litigation, were already addressed by the Court in its first Opinion and Order. Kona Enters., Inc. ,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Government's motion for reconsideration is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
There is no law of the district and the intra-district cases cited by the Government are not binding upon this Court. See Starbuck v. City of San Francisco ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Respondent v. Gary Lee WALLS, Defendant/Petitioner.
- Status
- Published