United States v. William Webb
705 F. App'x 172
| 4th Cir. | 2017Background
- William Eugene Webb was convicted in 2000 of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in connection with drug trafficking; originally sentenced to 355 months as an armed career criminal.
- The district court granted Webb's 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion, vacated his sentence, and ordered resentencing without the ACCA enhancement.
- At resentencing the court dismissed the firearms-in-connection-with-drug-trafficking conviction, credited Webb with time served for confinement, and imposed a three-year term of supervised release.
- Webb appealed, and counsel filed an Anders brief raising two questions: whether the time-served sentence exceeded the statutory maximum and whether supervised release was improperly imposed (arguing any supervised-release term should have run during the excess imprisonment).
- The Government did not file a brief; Webb submitted no pro se supplemental brief.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Webb's challenge to his term of confinement is justiciable or moot | Webb contests the length of his confinement (time served) following resentencing | Government contends challenge is moot because Webb completed the imprisonment and shows no collateral consequences | Moot — challenge to confinement is nonjusticiable absent collateral consequences; Webb showed none (citing Hardy) |
| Whether the district court could impose supervised release after an overlong period of imprisonment | Webb argues supervised release should have been reduced by time he served in excess of the statutory maximum | Government argues, relying on precedent, supervised release is not reduced by excess time served and is imposed when confinement ends | Affirmed — under Johnson the supervised-release term is not reduced by overlong imprisonment; district court retained authority to impose supervised release |
Key Cases Cited
- Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (procedural standard for appointed counsel to brief appeal when no meritorious issues exist)
- United States v. Hardy, 545 F.3d 280 (4th Cir. 2008) (defendant bears burden to show collateral consequences to avoid mootness of sentence challenge)
- United States v. Johnson, 529 U.S. 53 (2000) (supervised-release term is not reduced by excess time served in prison)