No. 18-6761

Tellis T. Williams v. United States

Lower Court: Sixth Circuit
Docketed: 2018-11-20
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: advisory-sentencing-guidelines beckles-v-united-states career-offender-enhancement certificate-of-appealability certificate-of-appealability-coa due-process johnson-claim johnson-v-united-states sentencing-guidelines sixth-circuit vagueness-challenge
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw DueProcess FifthAmendment HabeasCorpus
Latest Conference: 2019-01-04
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. When a Petitioner seeks a Certificate Of Appealability(COA)i based on whether this Court's decision in Beckles v. United States, 137 S 'Ct. 886, affects his Johnson based claim, and in denying Petitioner's COA the Sixth Circuit gathers and forms their own opinion that this Court's decision in Beckles held that "Johnson's reasoning does not apply to the advisory Sentencing Guidelines" does the Sixth Circuit reach its conclusion that reasonable jurist could not debate-J the district court's conclusion that Petitioner!js not entitled to relief based on Johnson,only after essentially deciding the case on its merit? And if so. does the Sixth Circuit place too heavy a burden on the Petitioner at the COA stage?

Whether the Sixth Circuit's denial of Petitioner's COA was based on whether the Petitioner's appeal would have merit instead of whether reasonable jurist could debate the district court's resolution of his constitutional claim, and if so, did the Sixth Circuit exceed the limited scope of the COA analysis when reviewing Petitioner's application for a COA?

Whether every collateral attack of a sentence under the advisory Guidelines, based on Johnson v United States, 192 L. Ed. 2d. 569, 576, 135 S. Ct. 2551, 2555, must be a substantive due 'process claim, a vagueness challenge, and/or a facial challenge to the advisory Guidelines' residual clause, §4B1.2(a)(2); or may a Petitioner collaterally attack the sentence/judgment and/or §4B1.2(a)(2) relying on Johnson raising a procedural due Process claim and/or an as-applied constitutional challenge, and if so, on the present record could reasonable jurist at least debate whether this Court's decision in Beckles v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 886, "squaerly rejects" Petitioner's due process challenge to his sentence/judgment, and/or §4B1.2(a) 1 residual clause based on Johnson's reasoning? Or, could reasonable jurist at least debate the district court's resolution of Petitioner's constitutional claim?

Whether the new rule announced in Johnson v. United States, 192 L. Ed. 2d.569, 576, 135 S. Ct. 2551. 2555, is applicable to the advisory Guidelines because it should have retroactive effect according to the second exception in Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 311, 109 S. Ct. 1060, 103 L. Ed. 2d. 334(198), as a watershed rule of criminal procedure, because the new rule announced in Johnson as-applied to Petitioner implicates the fundamental fairness of a criminal proceeding? And if so, should this Court decide the retroactivity issue under the context in which it actually applies to the case, before ruling on whether Johnson's rationale is applicable to the advisory Guidelines, so that the proper analysis may govern the case?

Whether following Johnson core principles, the vagueness of the residual clause's constitutional implications require that Petitioner's judgment is void because Johnson implicates the fundamental fairness of a criminal proceeding and/or because the district court's consideration of the vague residual clause means that Petitioner was not afforded a reasonable opportunity to ddress the career-offender issues "in a meaningful manner", which during the sentencing hearing is a major component of procedural due process?

6

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Sixth Circuit's denial of Petitioner's COA was based on the merits of the appeal rather than whether reasonable jurists could debate the district court's resolution

Docket Entries

2019-01-07
Petition DENIED.
2018-12-06
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019.
2018-12-03
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2018-08-27
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due December 20, 2018)
2018-05-31
Application (17A1329) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until August 27, 2018.
2018-05-22
Application (17A1329) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from June 28, 2018 to August 27, 2018, submitted to Justice Kagan.

Attorneys

Tellis T. Williams
Tellis T. Williams — Petitioner
United States
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent