Keller v. United States
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 19434
| 7th Cir. | 2011Background
- Keller pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and was sentenced as an armed career criminal under § 924(e)(1) to 180 months, the statutory minimum.
- Plea agreement waived challenges to conviction/sentence unless sentence exceeded the Guidelines range or the statutory minimum, whichever greater.
- District court sentenced Keller to the mandatory minimum after a Guidelines calculation; Keller did not file a direct appeal.
- Approximately two years later, Keller sought Oklahoma state-court relief to vacate two predicate convictions used for the career-criminal designation.
- Oklahoma dismissed eight postconviction cases, including two related to the predicate convictions, in an April 24, 2009 order.
- A nunc pro tunc order (Dec. 2, 2010) clarified the earlier dismissal did not vacate the predicate convictions; it instead related to postconviction matters only.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether § 2255 motion timeliness was restarted by a vacatur fact | Keller argues Johnson restarted AEDPA clock due to vacatur | Government argues no vacatur occurred; no restart | No restart; motion untimely under § 2255(f)(1)/(4) |
| Whether waiver of collateral review bars Keller's claim | Waiver should not bar Johnson-type relief if vacatur occurred | Waiver covers collateral review; Johnson claim not within exception | Waiver bars § 2255 relief because predicate convictions not vacated |
| Whether Johnson due diligence requirement was satisfied | Due diligence shown by state-postconviction pursuit | Delay (23+ months) unreasonable; Johnson not satisfied | Due diligence not satisfied; clock not restarted |
Key Cases Cited
- Johnson v. United States, 544 U.S. 295 (U.S. 2005) (vacatur of predicate conviction restarts AEDPA clock; due diligence required)
- United States v. Chapa, 602 F.3d 865 (7th Cir. 2010) (waiver scope controls collateral-review rights)
- Jones v. United States, 167 F.3d 1142 (7th Cir. 1999) (validity of waivers of direct appeal and collateral review)