United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Southern Division
MEMORANDUM OF OPINION
L.
SCOTT COOGLER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
I.
Introduction
This is
a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct a sentence pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, filed by Petitioner Timothy Louis
Jones, Jr. (“Jones”) on April 17, 2019. (Doc. 1.)
Pursuant to § 2255(b) and Rule 4 of the Rules Governing
Section 2255 Proceedings, this Court has conducted a
preliminary review of the motion and determines that it is
due to be denied and this action dismissed.
II.
Background
On May
28, 2015, Jones was indicted on one count of being a felon in
possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §
922(g)(1) in case number 2:15-cr-000145-LSC-TMP-1, stemming
out of an incident taking place on or about October 2, 2013.
Jones pleaded guilty to that charge, pursuant to a written
plea agreement, on November 5, 2015.
On
November 30, 2015, Jones was indicted on one count of being a
felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 922(g)(1) in case number 2:15-cr-000397-LSC-JHE-1,
stemming out of a different incident and arrest that took
place on or about March 26, 2015. He also pleaded guilty to
that charge, pursuant to a written plea agreement, on January
26, 2016.
This
Court conducted Jones's sentencing hearing for both cases
on March 8, 2016. For case number 2:15-cr-00145-LSC-TMP-1,
Jones was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 63 months to
run consecutive to all other cases. For case number
2:15-cr-00397-LSC-JHE-1, Jones was sentenced to a term of
imprisonment of 63 months to run concurrently with Jefferson
County, Alabama Court cases CC 15-3086, DC 15-2901, and DC
15-2903 through 15-2905, and to run consecutive to the
judgment in case number 2:15-cr-00145-LSC-TMP-1 and all other
state court cases.
Judgment
was entered on March 9, 2016. Jones did not appeal.
On
April 17, 2019, Williams signed his § 2255 motion, which
was filed into the record several days later.[1] Jones indicates
that he is challenging the convictions and sentences in both
criminal cases. (See doc. 1 at 1.) The Clerk has
docketed the § 2255 motion in both criminal cases.
(See doc. 24 in 2:15-cr-00145-LSC-TMP-1 and doc. 19
in 2:15-cr-000397-LSC-JHE-1). Jones complains about the
performance of his criminal defense counsel in both cases as
well as the fact that his sentences in each case were ordered
to run consecutively to, rather than concurrently with, each
other. He also asks for additional time to file a
supplemental brief in support of his claims.
Jones
remains in custody.
III.
Discussion
Jones's
§ 2255 motion is untimely on its face. The Antiterrorism
and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) creates
a strict one-year limitation for § 2255 petitioners,
such that Jones was obligated to file his motion no later
than one year after “the date on which the judgment of
conviction becomes final.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(1).
A federal criminal judgment that is not appealed becomes
final for the purpose of § 2255 when the time for filing
a direct appeal expires. See, e.g., Murphy v. United
States, 634 F.3d 1303, 1307 (11th Cir. 2011). Therefore,
Jones's convictions became final on March 23, 2016, 14
days after this Court entered judgment. See Fed. R.
App. P. 4(b)(1)(A). In waiting to file the instant motion
until April 2019, Jones has run afoul of the one-year
limitation period found in § 2255(f)(1).
The
statute provides for alternative triggers for the one-year
period where “the movant was prevented from making a
motion by . . . government action, ” where a
“right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court
and made retroactively applicable, ” or where the claim
was based on newly-discovered facts. § 2255(f)(2)-(4).
Jones has not alleged, and there is no reason to believe,
that any of those circumstances are applicable here;
therefore, his AEDPA clock commenced running when his
judgment of conviction became final.
In sum,
relief under § 2255 is not warranted here because
Jones's motion is barred by the ...