Moore v. United States
- Alison Nathan
- 1:16-cv-03612
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Moore v. United States, Judge Nathan vacated Moore’s firearm conviction under Davis and resentenced him on the robbery-conspiracy count.
Deszmon Moore’s federal convictions and sentence were affected: the court vacated his firearm conviction and related special assessment and resentenced him on the robbery-conspiracy conviction.
What happened
In Moore v. United States, Deszmon Moore pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robbery and possessing a firearm in connection with that conspiracy. The court originally sentenced him to 93 months in prison on each count, to run concurrently.
Moore challenged his sentence under a law allowing federal courts to correct unlawful convictions or sentences. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Davis, the court concluded that the robbery conspiracy no longer qualified as a violent crime under the provision used for the firearm conviction.
The court granted Moore’s petition, vacated the firearm conviction and its special assessment, and resentenced him on the robbery-conspiracy count to time served plus 12 months of supervised release. Judge Alison J. Nathan issued the order.
The detailed version
- Moore v. United States · No. 1:16-cv-03612
- Alison Nathan
- Nov. 12, 2019
Background
The Government charged Deszmon Moore with two offenses: conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, under 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and possessing a firearm in relation to a robbery conspiracy, under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Moore pleaded guilty to both counts on January 30, 2013. On July 1, 2013, the court sentenced him to 93 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release on each count, with the sentences running concurrently.
Petition and Legal Issue
Moore filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, which allows a federal prisoner to seek correction of a conviction or sentence. The petition was stayed while the Supreme Court considered United States v. Davis. After Davis, the court determined that conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery qualified as a “crime of violence” only under the residual clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3), which Davis invalidated.
Ruling and Disposition
The court granted Moore’s petition. It vacated his conviction on Count Two and also vacated the special assessment imposed on that count under 18 U.S.C. § 3013. The court resentenced Moore on Count One to time served and 12 months of supervised release, beginning on November 6, 2019, the date of resentencing. Judge Alison J. Nathan issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.