Hill v. Rios, No. 12-3168 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseIn 2010, Hill filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241, arguing that the district court had erred in deeming him a career offender when calculating his sentence in 1999. The Seventh Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. 2255(e) forecloses resort to 2241, because Hill could have used section 2255 to present the same argument, if he had acted promptly after the decision in Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (2008). Hill did not seek rehearing or Supreme Court review, but sought relief in the district court under F.R.C.P. 60(b), arguing that the Seventh Circuit overlooked that he had earlier lost a 2255 motion The district court denied the motion, concluding that failure to apprise the court of important facts is not “excusable neglect,” permitting reopening of a judgment. The Seventh Circuit subsequently held that 2241 may apply under specific circumstances when 2255 does not allow successive collateral attack. The Seventh Circuit affirmed denial of relief, reasoning that legal developments after a final judgment do not qualify as extraordinary circumstances for a litigant who bypassed arguments on appeal. The court noted that Hill did not argue that he is in prison for an act that is not criminal; his sentence is within the range that would have prevailed had the judge not applied a career-offender enhancement.
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