Jones v. United States

Background

A grand jury charged Andre Jones with possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The charge arose after Jones arrived at Montefiore Hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand and a firearm fell from his pants while he was being treated. Police recovered the firearm.

Jones pleaded guilty without a plea agreement on April 24, 2018. During the plea, he acknowledged that he had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. The court sentenced him to 30 months in prison on October 2, 2018. He did not file a direct appeal.

After the Supreme Court decided Rehaif v. United States in 2019, Jones filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a procedure allowing a federal prisoner to challenge a conviction or sentence. He proceeded without a lawyer. He argued that his conviction should be vacated because the indictment did not allege, and his guilty plea did not establish, that he knew he had the felony status that made firearm possession unlawful.

Rehaif issue

Rehaif held that, in a prosecution under § 922(g), the government must prove that the defendant knew both that he possessed the firearm and that he belonged to the relevant restricted category. For Jones, the relevant category was a person previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.

The court agreed that the indictment did not allege that Jones knew of his qualifying felony status when he possessed the firearm. The court also noted that Jones did not state during his guilty plea that he knew of that status at the time of possession. The court rejected Jones’s argument that this omission deprived the court of jurisdiction, relying on Second Circuit precedent holding that the omission was not a jurisdictional defect.

Procedural default and prejudice

Because Jones did not raise the issue before his guilty plea or on direct appeal, the court treated the claim as procedurally defaulted. A procedurally defaulted claim generally cannot be raised later unless the defendant shows a valid reason for the earlier failure and actual, substantial harm, or proves factual innocence.

The court assumed that Jones could show cause for the default because he was sentenced before Rehaif was decided and was proceeding without a lawyer. But the court found that he could not show actual prejudice. The presentence report stated that Jones had multiple New York felony convictions from 2011, each punishable by more than one year in prison, and that he had served approximately five years in prison between 2011 and 2016. The court concluded that these facts showed Jones knew of his restricted status when he possessed the firearm. The court also found that Jones had not presented information establishing factual innocence, particularly because he admitted during his guilty plea that he possessed the firearm, knew that possession was illegal, and had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.

Disposition

The court denied Jones’s § 2255 motion. It also denied his requests for an evidentiary hearing and appointment of counsel. The court found that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The clerk was directed to close the motion at Docket No. 31 in the related criminal case, close civil case No. 19 Civ. 9376, and mail the order to Jones.