Speed v. United States
- P. Castel
- 1:10-cv-03333
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Speed v. United States, Judge Castel granted Robert Speed a certificate of appealability after the court denied his sentence-challenge motion.
Robert Speed received permission to pursue an appeal of the denial of his sentence-challenge motion; the order did not itself provide relief from his sentence.
What happened
Speed v. United States concerns Robert Speed’s request to challenge his federal sentence under a procedure allowing a prisoner to seek correction of a sentence. The court had already denied that request.
Speed needed a certificate of appealability to appeal the denial. The court found that unsettled law after United States v. Davis justified finding that he had made the required substantial showing of a possible constitutional-right violation.
Judge Castel therefore granted Speed a certificate of appealability. This order did not grant relief from his sentence or decide that his challenge would succeed on appeal.
The detailed version
- Speed v. United States · No. 1:10-cv-03333
- P. Castel
- Oct. 29, 2020
Background
Robert Speed sought relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, which allows a federal prisoner to ask the court that imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside, or correct it. The court had denied Speed’s § 2255 motion. This order addressed whether Speed could appeal that denial.
Certificate of Appealability
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c), an appeal from a final order in a § 2255 case requires a certificate of appealability. The certificate is available when the applicant makes a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied.
The court found that the law remained unsettled after United States v. Davis concerning how to interpret general guilty verdicts under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) when the verdict rests on more than one possible predicate crime. Based on that uncertainty, the court found that Speed had made the required showing.
Disposition
The court granted Speed a certificate of appealability. The order did not vacate or change his sentence, and it did not decide whether Speed would prevail on appeal.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.