In Re: Devon Chance, No. 16-13918 (11th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePetitioner seeks authorization to file a 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion based on Johnson v. United States. Petitioner was sentenced under 18 U.S.C. 924(c), which requires a longer prison sentence whenever a defendant uses a firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. Petitioner contends that the residual clause of section 924(c) is unconstitutional in light of Johnson. The court recently ruled that Johnson's holding may invalidate the "very similar" section 924(c)(3)(B) residual clause. The court recognized, at the same time, that the law is unsettled on this question and left it to the district court to decide in the first instance what effect Johnson had on section 924(c)'s residual clause. The court concluded that when petitioner's section 2255 motion is filed in the district court, the district court should hear from the parties and apply the law to the facts as it thinks best. Accordingly, the court granted the petition.
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