United States v. Winston, No. 16-7252 (4th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion for post-conviction relief. Defendant's sentence included an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1), based in part on his prior conviction for the Virginia crime of common law robbery as a qualifying predicate "violent felony." The court agreed with the district court's rejection of the government's procedural arguments because defendant sufficiently has shown that he relied on a new rule of constitutional law under Johnson v. United States. The court held, however, that defendant's conviction for Virginia common law robbery does not constitute a violent felony under the ACCA, because the full range of conduct covered by the Virginia crime does not necessarily include the use of "force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person." Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded.
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