v.
United States
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
MICHAEL TERRILL FAIRCLOTH, Petitioner, v. Case No: 2:19-cv-269-FtM-29MRM
Case No. 2:06-CR-117-FTM-29MR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on petitioner Michael Terrill Faircloth’s (Faircloth or petitioner) Motion Under 28 U.S.C. Section 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody (Cv. Doc. #1; Cr. Doc. #89; Cr. Doc. #90)1 filed by counsel on May 13, 2019, and petitioner’s pro se Motion Under 28 U.S.C. Section 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody (Cv. Doc. #2) filed on May 14, 2019. Petitioner’s attorney filed a Memorandum of Law (Cv. Doc. #10) on August 5, 2019. On October 3, 2019, petitioner’s attorney was allowed to withdraw from the case. (Cv. Doc. #15.) The government filed a Response in Opposition (Cv. Doc. #16) on
1 The Court will refer to the docket of the civil habeas case as “Cv. Doc.”, and will refer to the docket of the underlying criminal case as “Cr. Doc.”
October 4, 2019, to which petitioner filed a pro se Reply (Cv. Doc. #19) on December 9, 2019.
Petitioner is in the unusual position of urging the Court to vacate his sentence so it may impose a more severe sentence. Petitioner was originally sentenced as an armed career offender to 120 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. Before petitioner completed that sentence, he escaped; when captured, petitioner was found in possession of a firearm. This led to two new federal criminal cases, which ultimately resulted in convictions. After serving about nine years of the 120 month sentence, but before being convicted and sentenced on the new federal offenses, petitioner filed his first § 2255 motion claiming he was not an armed career offender under recent Supreme Court cases. The Court agreed, set a re-sentencing hearing, and ultimately re-sentenced petitioner to 41 months imprisonment, with no supervised release to follow. By the time petitioner was re-sentenced, he had completely served the original 120-month term of imprisonment (but not the supervised release term).
Petitioner asserts that the federal Bureau of Prisons refuses to credit his “overserved” time (i.e., the difference between the 120 months he actually served and the 41 months he was re-sentenced to serve) on either of petitioner’s two new federal sentences. Petitioner further asserts that the Bureau of Prisons would give him such credit if the Court had imposed a term of supervised release at re-sentencing. Petitioner therefore argues that the Court erred in failing to impose a term of supervised release, and his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to request the Court to do so. Petitioner seeks to be re-sentenced to 41 months imprisonment, plus a three year term of supervised release, and requests that the Court order the Bureau of Prisons to give him credit for the over-service of his original sentence. (Cv. Doc. #10, pp. 10-11.)
I.
A. Procedural History of Current Case
On October 25, 2006, a federal grand jury in Fort Myers, Florida returned a one-count Indictment (Cr. Doc. #1) charging Faircloth with being a felon in possession of ammunition (the Ammunition Case). In due course defendant entered a plea of guilty pursuant to a Plea Agreement. (Cr. Docs. #39, 41.)
According to the Presentence Report, defendant qualified under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), resulting in a Sentencing Guideline range of 180 to 210 months imprisonment. (Cr. Doc. #72, p. 33.) At the September 24, 2007 sentencing, the Court granted a four-level reduction based on the government’s substantial assistance motion (Cr. Doc. #54), which resulted in a Sentencing Guidelines range of 120 to 150 months imprisonment. Petitioner was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by a term of 60 months supervised release. (Cr. Docs. #51, 53.) Defendant did not file a direct appeal.
About nine years later, on March 18, 2016, defendant filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 asserting that in light of the intervening decisions of Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) and Welch v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1257 (2016) he did not qualify under the ACCA. (Cr. Doc. #61.) On July 15, 2016, the Court issued an Opinion and Order (Cr. Doc. #62) finding the ACCA no longer applied to defendant, and setting the case for a full resentencing.
On September 13, 2016, petitioner through counsel filed a Motion to Withdraw Plea. (Cr. Doc. #67.) On October 19, 2016, the Court denied the motion because it would prejudice the government. (Cr. Doc. #71.)
Under the new Sentencing Guideline calculations, petitioner’s range was 51 to 63 months imprisonment. (Cr. Doc. #72, pp. 1-2.) At the December 5, 2016, resentencing, the government continued to ask for the four-level reduction based upon substantial assistance. The Court granted petitioner a four level reduction in the total offense level which, coupled with petitioner’s Category VI criminal history, resulted in a Sentencing Guidelines range of 33 to 41 months imprisonment, followed by supervised release of between one and three years. (Cr. Doc. #84, pp. 20.) Defense counsel asserted that imposition of supervised release was discretionary, not mandatory. (Id. at 20-21.) Defense counsel requested a sentence at the low end of the Sentencing Guidelines range, without imposition of a term of supervised release because of petitioner’s two pending federal cases for which supervised release would be available. (Id. at 21.) The Probation Office took the position that a term of supervised release was mandatory. (Id. at 24.)
Relying on 18 U.S.C. § 3583(a), the Court found that supervised release was not mandatory, and declined to impose a term of supervised release. (Id. at 25-26.) The Court imposed a sentence of 41 months imprisonment in order to give petitioner credit for his substantial assistance. (Id. at 29-30.) The Court declined to decide whether petitioner could “bank” or receive credit for any portion of the 120 month prior sentence which was over-served. (Id. at 30-31.) Judgment (Cr. Doc. #79) was filed on December 6, 2016.
Defendant had, of course, already served more than 41 months imprisonment. According to the Bureau of Prisons, a 41-month term would have been completed on April 21, 2009; petitioner had completed the 120-month prison term on January 14, 2015. (Cv. Doc. #16, p. 5.)
1 Defendant was not released because, as discussed in more detail in a moment, he had been indicted on March 14, 2014, for escape and indicted on July 9, 2014, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. On March 13, 2015, petitioner filed a motion under 28 Defense counsel filed a Notice of Appeal (Cr. Doc. #81) and on appeal challenged the Court’s denial of petitioner’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence on October 18, 2017. (Cr. Doc. #87); United States v. Faircloth, 712 F. App'x 887 (11th Cir. 2017). Petitioner’s pro se petition for certiorari was denied on May 14, 2018. Faircloth v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2012 (2018).
B. Procedural History of Intervening Prosecutions
As part of the original incarceration on the Ammunition Case, petitioner was released to a halfway house in Miami, Florida. On or about February 12, 2014, petitioner left the halfway house without permission and was deemed to have escaped. On March 14, 2014, petitioner was indicted in the Southern District of Florida for Escape (the Escape Case). (Cv. Doc. #10, ¶ 2; Cv. Doc. #16, p. 4.)
On May 21, 2014, petitioner was arrested on the Escape Case at his residence in Cape Coral, Florida, where he was found with a loaded firearm on his person. (Cv. Doc. #10, ¶ 3; Cv. Doc. #16, p. 4.) On July 9, 2014, petitioner was indicted in the Middle
U.S.C. § 2241 asserting that he had already served his 120 month sentence, and seeking his immediate release or transfer to the Southern District to answer on the escape charge. (Id., p. 2.) On November 14, 2016, the Section 2241 motion was dismissed without prejudice as moot because the resentencing hearing had already been scheduled, or alternatively, for failure to prosecute. See Faircloth v. United States, 2:15-cv-168-FTM-29MRM, Doc. #12 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 14, 2016).
District of Florida for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon (the Firearm Case) based on the loaded firearm found at the time of his arrest on the Escape Case. (Cv. Doc.
#16, p. 4.)
On January 28, 2016, petitioner was found guilty by a jury on the Firearm Case in the Middle District of Florida. See United States v. Faircloth, 2:14-cr-76-FTM-38MRM, Doc. #161. On June 19, 2017, petitioner was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment, consecutive to the sentence to be imposed for the escape. (Cv. Doc. #10, ¶ 4; 2:14-cr-76-FTM-38MRM, Doc. #227.) This conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. United States v. Faircloth, 770 Fed. Appx. 976, 977 (11th Cir. 2019). The Supreme Court denied certiorari on March 2, 2020. Faircloth v. United States, 140 S. Ct. 1273 (2020).
On August 16, 2017, petitioner was sentenced on the escape charge to 27 months of imprisonment, to run consecutive to the 41- month term imposed in the Ammunition Case. (Cv. Doc. #16, p. 5.)
II.
Petitioner and his former counsel raise several grounds for relief in their respective § 2255 motions. The Court summarizes each ground.
A. Ground One
In his pro se Ground One, petitioner phrases the issue as one of ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner asserts that his attorney failed to use due diligence to ascertain whether or not a term of supervised release was necessary to ensure he would receive time-served credit for the over-served sentence. Petitioner asserts that his attorney was twice given untrue information by a sentencing specialist with the Bureau of Prisons, but faults counsel for not verifying the information. (Cv. Doc. #2, p. 4.)
In the Ground One in counsel’s § 2255 Motion, counsel phrases the issue as being trial court error. Specifically, counsel argues that the trial court erred in not imposing a term of supervised release upon re-sentencing, which prevented petitioner’s sentence from being aggregated with his new sentences because his original sentence had already expired. Imposition of a supervised release term would have meant petitioner’s sentence in the instant case had not expired, and the Bureau of Prisons would be able to aggregate his consecutive sentences and provide credit for the over-served time. (Cv. Docs. #1, p. 4; #10, pp. 5-7.)
B. Ground Two
In Ground Two of petitioner’s pro se § 2255 motion he asserts that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to seek a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court, as petitioner had requested him to do. (Cv. Doc. #2, p. 5.)
In Ground Two of counsel’s § 2255 motion counsel asserts that former counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to bring to the Court’s attention that a term of supervised release which extended beyond the date of resentencing was required in order for the new consecutive sentences to be aggregated and petitioner to receive credit for the over-service of his prior sentence. (Cv. Doc. #2, pp. 5-6.)
C. Ground Three
In Ground Three of petitioner’s pro se § 2255 motion he asserts that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel because petitioner received “zero” credit at the resentencing for his assistance to the government, in violation of his Plea Agreement. Petitioner also asserts that the Bureau of Prison is not giving him any credit for the over-service, which effectively constitutes a breach of the Plea Agreement, which his attorney failed to preserve, object to, or appeal. (Cv. Doc. #2, p. 7.)
In Ground Three of counsel’s § 2255 motion counsel asserts that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to research and properly advise petitioner regarding whether his consecutive sentences would be aggregated, when he would be eligible for release from prison, the total length of his sentences, and the impact resentencing would have on time already served. (Cv. Doc. #1, p. 7.)
D. Ground Four
In Ground Four petitioner asserts that he instructed his attorney to file a notice of appeal from the re-sentencing, but his attorney failed to do so. (Cv. Doc. #10, p. 10.)
E. Ground Added in Reply
In his pro se Reply (Cv. Doc. #19), petitioner raises the additional claim that the Indictment in the instant case was defective under recent Supreme Court authority, and therefore the district court had no jurisdiction over the case.
III.
The Court first addresses some preliminary procedural matters.
A. Timeliness of Motion/Cognizability
Petitioner has filed two versions of his current § 2255 motion. Petitioner filed a pro se § 2255 motion on May 14, 2019, which had been signed on May 9, 2019. The other motion was signed and filed by counsel on May 13, 2019. The government concedes that the § 2255 motions were timely filed (Cv. Doc. #16, pp. 8- 9), and the Court agrees.
The government also concedes that the issues raised by petitioner are cognizable under § 2255. (Cv. Doc. #16, pp. 12- 13.) Again, the Court agrees.
B. Lack of Jurisdiction – “In Custody” Requirement The government asserts that the § 2255 motions should be dismissed because petitioner was not “in custody” at the time he filed the § 2255 motions, as required by the statute. (Cv. Doc. #16, pp. 9-10.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court disagrees.
“A prisoner in custody under sentence of a court established by Act of Congress claiming the right to be released” on certain types of grounds “may move the court which imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a). Whether a prisoner is “in custody” is measured at the time he or she files the § 2255 motion. Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234, 238 (1968)(“The federal habeas corpus statute requires that the applicant must be ‘in custody’ when the application for habeas corpus is filed.”)
Although the phrase “in custody” is construed broadly, the Supreme Court has stressed that a habeas petitioner cannot satisfy that requirement if he “suffers no present restraint from” the conviction he seeks to challenge. Garlotte v. Fordice, 515 U.S. 39, 45 (1995); Maleng v. Cook, 490 U.S. 488, 492 (1989). Two Supreme Court cases are relevant. In Peyton v. Rowe, 391 U.S. 54, 67 (1968), the Supreme Court held that a district court may entertain a habeas petition from a prisoner incarcerated under consecutive sentences when the prisoner claims that a sentence he is scheduled to serve in the future is unconstitutional. In Garlotte v. Fordice, the Supreme Court addressed what it described as “Peyton in reverse.” Garlotte entered simultaneous guilty pleas in state court and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for a drug charge, to be followed by concurrent life sentences for murder convictions. 515 U.S. at 41–42. Although Garlotte had completed the three-year drug term and had begun serving the life sentences for the murder charge, the Supreme Court allowed his habeas petition, which challenged the validity of the drug conviction. The Supreme Court concluded that “a prisoner serving consecutive sentences is ‘in custody’ under any one of them for purposes of the habeas statute.” Id. at 45–46 (quoting Peyton, 391 U.S. at 67). The Court focused on the “core purpose of habeas review,” noting that Garlotte's challenge would shorten his term of incarceration if he was successful. Id. at 47.
Here, in May 2019, when petitioner filed his § 2255 motions, he was literally “in custody,” but in federal custody based upon the Firearm Case, not the Ammunition Case in which he now seeks § 2255 relief. If petitioner’s claims are correct, he suffers a present restraint from the Ammunition Case.
In May, 2019, petitioner had completely served all components of his sentence in the Ammunition Case, but was serving sentences in two federal cases, both of which were imposed to be served consecutively to the Ammunition Case. Petitioner asserts that if he prevails in this § 2255 proceeding, he will be released from prison earlier on the Firearm Case and the Escape Case because the Bureau of Prisons will aggregate the three sentences and effectively credit the over-served time from the Ammunition Case. If successful, petitioner will advance his release date, which is sufficient to permit a § 2255 motion. Peyton, 391 U.S. at 66-67. Under these circumstances, the Court finds petitioner was “in custody” for purposes of § 2255 at the time he filed his § 2255 motions.
C. Mootness
The government also asserts that the § 2255 motions should be dismissed as moot because petitioner has served his entire sentence in the Ammunition Case. (Cv. Doc. #16, pp. 10-12.) Given the nature of petitioner’s claims, the Court disagrees.
A federal court’s jurisdiction is limited to “Cases” and “Controversies.” U.S. Const. art. III, § 2, cl. 1. A case or controversy becomes moot when it no longer presents a live controversy with respect to which the court can give meaningful relief. United States v. Al-Arian, 514 F.3d 1184, 1189 (11th Cir. 2008). A sentencing issue is moot when the defendant has already