Kelley v. United States, No. 19-1932 (1st Cir. 2021)
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The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition to vacate his conviction and sentence stemming from a 2003 plea agreement for being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the district court did not err.
In his petition, citing 28 U.S.C. 2255, Appellant argued that because Criminal Procedure Rule 7 provides that an indictment "must be signed by" a government lawyer and because an assistant United States attorney in his case signed the indictment in 2003 despite having a suspended license to practice law, the indictment was invalidated, stripping the district court of jurisdiction. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 9, 2021.
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