Gilbert v. United States, No. 09-12513 (11th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a federal prisoner, petitioned to have an error of law in the calculation of his sentence corrected based upon a Supreme Court decision interpreting the sentencing guidelines, even though that decision was issued eleven years after he was sentenced. At issue was whether the savings clause contained in 28 U.S.C. 2255(e) permitted a federal prisoner to challenge his sentence in a habeas corpus petition when he could not raise that challenge in a section 2255 motion because of the section 2255(h) bar against second and successive motions. The court held that the savings clause did not authorize a federal prisoner to bring a habeas corpus petition, which would otherwise be barred by section 2255(h), and that the sentencing guidelines were misapplied in a way that resulted in a longer sentence not exceeding the statutory minimum. The court also held that the reasoning, standards, and tests announced by the Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Crosby, which involved a state prisoner case, also applied to federal prisoner cases. Therefore, petitioner must serve the sentence that was imposed on him fourteen years ago.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on June 21, 2010.
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