In re Watkins
OPINION
Windy Watkins, a federal prisoner serving a sentence of 185-months’ imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, moves this Court for authorization to file a second or successive habeas petition under
I.
In 2005, Watkins pleaded guilty to one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in violation of
II.
In 2011, Watkins filed a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct her sentence
In 2014, Watkins filed the instant motion before the district court, arguing that in light of Descamps, her felony escape conviction did not qualify as a predicate offense under ACCA. Noting that Watkins had previously filed an untimely
As the Johnson Court explained, under ACCA, a defendant who “has three or more earlier convictions for a ‘serious drug offense’ or a ‘violent felony,’ ” is subject to a “prison term [of] a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life.”
[A]ny crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... that—
(i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another;3 or
(ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives,4 or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another [.]
After Johnson was decided, Watkins filed a motion requesting a stay and seeking leave to file a supplemental brief addressing Johnson’s impact on her claim that her felony escape conviction no longer qualifies as a predicate offense under ACCA. We granted the motion. In its supplemental brief, the government asserts that under Johnson — which overruled previous Supreme Court decisions and held that ACCA’s residual clause is void for vagueness — Watkins has made a prima facie showing that she meets each of
III.
A court of appeals may authorize a second or successive
Several of our sister circuits addressing the issue of whether Johnson may be used as a basis to authorize a second or successive
“ ‘[A] case announces a. new rule if the result was not dictated by precedent existing at the time the defendant’s convic-tion became final.’ ” Chaidez v. United States, — U.S. -,
Despite the apparent consensus that Johnson announced a new rule of constitutional law, the circuits have split regarding a separate gatekeeping requirement under
The Supreme Court has held that “[n]ew substantive rules generally apply retroactively.” Schriro v. Summerlin,
In her concurrence in Tyler v. Cain,
In determining whether a rule applies retroactively, “[t]he Teague inquiry is conducted in three steps.” O’Dell v. Netherlands
Johnson held that “imposing an increased sentence under the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act violates the Constitution’s guarantee of due process.”
We also reject the assertions advanced by our sister circuits that have sought to avoid this conclusion. The Eleventh Circuit, in accordance with the Seventh Circuit (and now this Circuit), held that Johnson announced a substantive rule of constitutional law. Rivero,
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated in this opinion, we find that Watkins has made a prima facie showing that her claim is based on “a new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court, that was previously unavailable.” Accordingly, we hereby GRANT her motion for authorization to file a second or successive
Notes
. Before the Supreme Court’s ruling in Johnson, Watkins argued that one of her prior convictions — for felony escape under Tennessee law — did not constitute a “violent felony” under ACCA's residual clause in light of the Supreme Court's holding in Descamps v. United States, - U.S. -,
. In light of Watkins’ previous
. We have referred to this sub-section of the statute as the use of physical force clause. United States v. Mitchell,
. This Court has held that the "thirty-day clock” to grant or deny authorization to file a second or successive
. As noted by the government, a person convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of
. This is commonly known as the enumerated offenses clause. United States v. Taylor,
. Although both Teague and Tyler discussed retroactivity principles in the context of the state-prisoner corollary of
. See Johnson,
. See Rivero,
. See Williams,
. As to these points specifically, we agree with the dissent in Rivero. See