Greenland v. United States

Background

Ronald C. Greenland filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 challenging the legality of his sentence. While that motion was pending, he filed a second § 2255 motion raising a challenge to the same sentence. The opinion refers to the second filing as a pro se motion, meaning Greenland filed it without a lawyer.

Treatment of the Second Filing

The court explained that when a second § 2255 motion is filed before the first motion challenging the same conviction is final, the second motion generally must be treated as an amendment or supplement to the pending motion rather than as a new successive motion. The court therefore construed Greenland’s second motion as a supplement to his original motion and incorporated it into his § 2255 application.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to file the second motion in the first case as an amended § 2255 motion and to administratively close the separate action opened for the second motion. The court directed the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address any new grounds for relief in the amended filing. Greenland may file a response within 30 days after being served with the government’s answer.

Ruling

The court concluded that the § 2255 motion should not be summarily dismissed as without merit, so it directed the Clerk to notify the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court did not decide whether Greenland was entitled to relief from his sentence. It stated that no certificate of appealability would issue because Greenland had not then made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. Judge Kenneth M. Karas signed the order.