Roman v. United States
Roman v. United States
Opinion
Not For Publication in West's Federal Reporter
United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit
No. 22-1295
SHARIFF A. ROMAN,
Petitioner, Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent, Appellee.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
[Hon. John J. McConnell, Jr., U.S. District Judge]
Before
Montecalvo, Selya, and Lynch, Circuit Judges.
Judith H. Mizner, Assistant Federal Public Defender, for appellant. Lauren S. Zurier, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Zachary A. Cunha, United States Attorney, was on brief, for appellee.
October 25, 2023 PER CURIAM. Shariff A. Roman appeals the denial of his
28 U.S.C. § 2255motion to vacate his conviction and sentence for
the use of a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 924(c). In 2019, the Supreme Court decided United States
v. Davis,
139 S. Ct. 2319(2019), and altered what qualifies as a
crime of violence under § 924(c). As a result, Roman now argues
that he was convicted based on a predicate offense that is no
longer considered a crime of violence.
We have often held that "when lower courts have
supportably found the facts, applied the appropriate legal
standards, articulated their reasoning clearly, and reached a
correct result, a reviewing court ought not to write at length
merely to hear its own words resonate." deBenedictis v. Brady-
Zell (In re Brady-Zell),
756 F.3d 69, 71(1st Cir. 2014). We have
held as much in habeas cases before, see, e.g., Santana v. Cowen,
No. 19-1270,
2021 WL 2827317, at *1 (1st Cir. July 7, 2021), cert.
denied sub nom. Santana v. Alves,
142 S. Ct. 600(2021), and we do
so again here.
In doing so, we point out that Roman dedicated the bulk
of his appellate brief to one argument: that the district court
erred by evaluating his case under the wrong legal framework. In
his brief, Roman contended that the district court should have
adopted a categorical approach rather than use the harmless error
standard to engage with the facts in the record. At oral argument,
- 2 - however, Roman's counsel reversed course and conceded that the
district court's harmless error approach was correct. Also at
oral argument, Roman's counsel argued that murder based on
co-conspirator or accessory liability is not a crime of violence
and, therefore, it is an invalid predicate offense for § 924(c).
Roman raised this argument in his § 2255 petition below, but
Roman's counsel chose not to advance it in the appellate brief.
Roman's appellate counsel at oral argument before us chose to
revert to this argument, perhaps for tactical reasons. Because
the district court's decision deftly addressed this argument,
thoroughly addressed each point and counterpoint, and cited
compelling precedent, we see no reason to write more. See United
States v. Roman,
607 F. Supp. 3d 151(D.R.I. 2022).
Hence, we summarily affirm the district court for
substantially the reasons elucidated in the district court's
decision. See 1st Cir. R. 27.0(c).
- 3 -
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished