Saldana v. United States

Background

Sandy Saldana filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a procedure allowing a federal prisoner to challenge a sentence. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, three Hobbs Act robbery counts, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to the robbery conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The court sentenced him to 51 months on the robbery-related counts, a consecutive 60 months on the firearm count, and five years of supervised release.

Saldana filed his petition in 2016, arguing that his § 924(c) conviction should be vacated in light of Johnson v. United States. In 2019, he asked to pause the case while the Supreme Court considered United States v. Davis. The court granted that request and later directed the government to respond after the Supreme Court decided Davis.

Mootness issue

The government reported that Saldana completed his prison term on May 17, 2018, and was removed from the United States to the Dominican Republic on June 16, 2018. It argued that the petition was moot, meaning that no live legal dispute remained for the court to resolve.

The court relied on Second Circuit precedent holding that a conviction challenge becomes moot when the petitioner faces a separate, permanent bar to entering the United States, because vacating the challenged conviction would not produce a meaningful legal benefit. The court stated that Saldana was not challenging his Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy convictions, which are aggravated felonies under the relevant immigration laws. Because those convictions would permanently bar him from entering the United States, vacating the § 924(c) conviction would not remove that bar or create a continuing legal consequence.

Ruling

Judge Paul G. Gardephe denied Saldana’s petition as moot and directed the Clerk of Court to close civil case No. 16 Civ. 5039. The opinion did not reach the merits of Saldana’s argument that his § 924(c) conviction should be vacated.