Mustafa Abdullah v. Bill Hedrick, Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal PrisonersMustafa Abdullah v. Bill Hedrick, Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
Lead Opinion
Mustafa Abdullah appeals the district court’s
I.
Abdullah’s claim, stemming from a firearm conviction under
In 1993 Abdullah filed a
Appealing the denial of his
Abdullah now seeks to present his Bailey claim through a
II.
A petitioner who seeks to challenge his sentence or convictiоn generally must do so in the sentencing court through
An application for a writ of habeas corpus in [sic] behalf of a prisoner who is authorized to apply for relief by motion pursuant to this section, shall not be entertained if it appears that the applicant has failed to apply for relief, by motion, to the cоurt which sentenced him, or that such court has denied him relief, unless it also appears that the remedy by motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention.
In such cases, the petitioner has the burden of showing that the remedy under
III.
In support of his attempt to use
The Third Circuit first considered a Bailey claim in In re Dorsainvil,
Soon after Dorsainvil, the Second Circuit decided Triestman v. United States,
However, the Second Circuit concluded that
Next, the Seventh Circuit considered a Bailey claim in In re Davenport,
The Seventh Circuit noted that in both cases, “[the petitioners’] arguments go to the fundamental legality of their sentences.” Id. at 609. Acknowledging that “[t]he essential function [of habeas corpus] is to give a prisoner a reasonable opportunity to obtain a reliable judicial determination of the fundamental legality of his conviction and sentence,” the court found that Davenport had already been given a reasonable opportunity to test the legality of his conviction. Id. The court noted that Davenport could havе raised his claim on direct appeal or in his first
Sоciety ... is unwilling to expend indefinitely large judicial resources on repeated testing of the accuracy of a determination of guilt. The amended section 2255 gives a convicted defendant only one further bite at the apple after his direct appeal unless he can demonstrate a compelling reason, as defined in the section (newly discovered evidence of innоcence or a new and retroactive rule of constitutional law), for being allowed a third bite (the first being the direct appeal, the second the first postconviction proceeding). We do not think it plausible that the Constitution requires more, in which event there would be an argument for construing the escape hatch more broadly in order to preserve the constitutionality ofsection 2255 ....
Id. at 610.
However, the Seventh Circuit found petitioner Nichols’ argument more compelling. It observed that “Nichols had no reasonable opportunity, either when he was convicted and appealed or later when he filed a motion for postconviction relief under
In similar cases, the Fourth and Fifth Circuits have also provided guidance as to when
IV.
Comparing the facts of Abdullah’s case with those of the cases detailed above, we conclude that it is clear that Abdullah has not shown that
Abdullah, as we discussed in the previous opinion, see Abdullah, 240 F.3d at 686, did have an unobstructed procedural opportunity to present his claim-either by amending his first
For the reasons stated, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Notes
. The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
. To makе an actual innocence showing, Ab-dullah would have to prove “not only actual innocence of the gun charge but also of the more serious charges the government dismissed in exchange for the guilty plea.” See Abdullah,
. See also United States v. Brooks,
. Subsequent cases in the Second Circuit have underscored the limited circumstances under which the court is willing to deem
. The Seventh Circuit added three qualifications to the rule, but those qualifications are not relevant here. See id. at 611-12. See also Taylor v. Gilkey,
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I dissent because thе record demonstrates Abdullah did not have an adequate opportunity to present his arguments for a remedy under
The background that underlies my views is set forth in Judge Heaney’s dissent in Abdullah v. United States,
Abdullah received no effective remedy under
In addition, the clerk of the district court provided Abdullah with a confusing explanation about the pro se motion, which may have led Abdullah, a person with little knowledge regarding the intricacies of the court system, to believe the substance of his motion would be acted upon by the district court. This probable belief is shown by Abdullah’s second pro se motion that he filed with the district court on June 18, 1997, in which Abdullah questioned why the Bailey issue had not been addressed by the district court. The combined effect of these circumstances preventеd Abdullah from seeking an effective remedy under
Under the majority opinion Abdullah must continue serving time for this invalid conviction for want of a remedy in the courts of the United States. I disagree.
In limited circumstances
Accordingly, I would reverse the dismissal of the petition for habeas corpus and remand to the district court for a decision on the merits of petitioner’s claims.