United States v. Polhill, 3:15-cr-00012

Antoine D. Beach pled guilty to bank robbery (18 U.S.C. § 2113(a)) and possession/discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and § 2).
Court sentenced Beach to 46 months on the bank robbery count and 120 months consecutive on the § 924(c) count.
Beach, proceeding pro se, filed a § 2255 motion arguing his § 924(c) conviction is unconstitutional in light of Johnson.
Johnson invalidated the ACCA residual clause as a violation of due process; Welch held Johnson is retroactive on collateral review.
The Government and the Fourth Circuit treat bank robbery under § 2113(a) as a crime of violence under the § 924(c) force clause (§ 924(c)(3)(A)).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Johnson's invalidation of ACCA's residual clause invalidates § 924(c)(3)(B) and thus Beach's § 924(c) conviction	Johnson (and Welch) render the residual clause of § 924(c) unconstitutional, so Beach's § 924(c) conviction cannot stand	Beach's § 924(c) conviction was predicated on bank robbery, which qualifies as a "crime of violence" under the force clause § 924(c)(3)(A), so Johnson does not affect his conviction	Denied. Court rejects Beach's claim because bank robbery is a crime of violence under the force clause, so § 924(c) conviction stands

Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) (invalidating ACCA residual clause as void for vagueness)
Welch v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1257 (2016) (holding Johnson is retroactive on collateral review)
United States v. McNeal, 818 F.3d 141 (4th Cir. 2016) (holding bank robbery under § 2113(a) is a crime of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A))