Sentencing Guidelines

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: DeAndre J. Beason v. Matthew Marske

Case No.: 18-3575

Officials: FLAUM, KANNE, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

The Armed Career Criminal Act, housed in § 924(e) of the Federal Criminal Code, mandates a minimum 15‐year sentence for a felon who unlawfully possesses a firearm and has three prior convictions for a “serious drug offense” or “violent felony.” In 2009, Deandre Beason pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced under the Act. Now, roughly a decade later, the parties agree that under current law none of Beason’s three prior convictions count as either violent felonies or serious drug offenses—meaning Beason no longer qualifies as an armed career criminal.

But this observation only gets us so far, as this case turns instead on whether Beason has available a procedural means to secure resentencing. He did not prevail on challenging his conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Nor did he succeed in his pursuit of post‐conviction relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. So he now turns to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Whether he can use § 2241 to pursue what is often called traditional habeas relief turns under our caselaw on whether the claims he now raises in his current petition were foreclosed to him at the time of his initial § 2255 motion. If so, the law would deem Beason’s prior § 2255 proceeding inadequate and thereby allow him to seek resentencing through and pursuant to § 2241.

We conclude that at least one of Beason’s grounds for relief—pertaining to two of his three prior convictions—was foreclosed to him at the time of his § 2255 motion. And, because Beason is correct that those two offenses cannot serve as qualifying offenses, he no longer has the three offenses qualifying him as an armed career criminal. While the remainder of the opinion travels the procedural and legal maze to this conclusion, the upshot is that we reverse and remand for the petition to be granted and Beason to be resentenced.

Reversed 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.