Moore v. United States

Background

Lamar Moore pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking, distributing marijuana, and possessing a firearm as a felon. The court sentenced him to a total of 151 months in prison. His plea agreement barred him from appealing or otherwise challenging a sentence within or below the agreed Sentencing Guidelines range of 84 to 188 months. The agreement also specifically barred challenges to the court’s use of the career-offender enhancement, while reserving claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Moore filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a procedure allowing a federal prisoner to seek correction or cancellation of an allegedly unlawful sentence. He argued that the career-offender enhancement should not have been applied and that his lawyer was ineffective for failing to challenge it. Moore separately sought compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), claiming that long COVID and other health problems justified early release.

Section 2255 Motion

The court first maintained its earlier conclusion that Moore had waived his right to challenge the sentence. The court found no new evidence, constitutional basis, or other fatal defect that would invalidate the waiver.

The court also rejected Moore’s arguments on the merits. Moore argued that one prior conviction was not a crime of violence and that his two 2009 convictions should be treated as one sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The court held that, even treating the 2009 convictions as one, Moore still had two qualifying prior felony convictions: second-degree robbery from 2004 and second-degree assault from 2009. The court concluded that both qualified as crimes of violence under the applicable Guidelines.

The court separately rejected Moore’s ineffective-assistance claim. Defense counsel had challenged the career-offender enhancement in a written sentencing memorandum. At sentencing, counsel withdrew that challenge after consulting with Moore, and Moore confirmed that he understood the court’s treatment of him as a career offender. The court found that counsel’s performance was not constitutionally ineffective. It also determined that the written record was sufficient and that no hearing was required.

The court therefore denied Moore’s motion under Section 2255 because he had waived the challenge and because, even without the waiver, the career-offender enhancement was properly applied and counsel was not constitutionally ineffective.

Compassionate Release Motion

The court denied Moore’s request for compassionate release. Although Moore reported continuing breathing and cardiovascular problems after COVID-19, the court found that he had been fully vaccinated, was receiving consistent medical care, and had not shown a specific life-ending or debilitating illness with a predictable, dire short-term prognosis.

The court also considered the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). It found that Moore’s firearms trafficking, trafficking of silencers, drug distribution, and criminal history weighed against release. The court rejected Moore’s argument that his sentence was unjustifiably harsher than his co-defendant’s because the two defendants were convicted of different conduct, and the co-defendant had cooperated with the government and was described as the least culpable participant.

Disposition

The court denied Moore’s Section 2255 motion and denied his compassionate-release motion. It declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Moore had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, so Moore could not proceed without paying the required filing costs.