Sentencing Guidelines

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Tracy D. Shipman v. United States of America

Case No.: 17-3476

Officials: RIPPLE, MANION, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

Tracy Shipman appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for collateral postconviction relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. When Shipman pleaded guilty to drug charges in 2003, the district court sentenced him under the then-mandatory Sentencing Guidelines. Because Shipman had three prior “crime of violence” felony convictions, the district court sentenced him as a “career offender.” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 (2002). The career-offender provision of the Guidelines defined a “crime of violence” in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(1)–(2). Two passages in that guideline are at issue here: the enumerated-offenses clause, and the residual clause.

On appeal, Shipman argues the Guidelines’ residual clause is unconstitutionally vague. We agree, a conclusion that follows directly from our decision in Cross v. United States, 892 F.3d 288 (7th Cir. 2018). Indeed, Cross abrogated the rationale supporting the district court’s dismissal of Shipman’s petition for collateral relief. With that issue resolved, the case hits a snag: the record does not conclusively show whether Shipman was sentenced under the residual clause or the enumerated-offenses clause. We therefore remand this case for further proceedings on the merits of Shipman’s § 2255 petition.

Vacated and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.