Garner v. United, No. 13-3506 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn 2007 Garner was convicted of federal gun and drug crimes and sentenced to 322 months’ imprisonment. Garner appealed, but counsel filed a no-merit “Anders” brief; the Seventh Circuit dismissed. A year later, Garner sought relief under 28 U.S.C. 2255, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. In 2013, new counsel amended the motion, arguing: enhancement of his sentence using a state conviction that was later vacated violated Garner’s due process rights, and his attorney was ineffective for failing to object to evidence that came directly from plea negotiations. The court granted Garner’s motion, finding merit in his first argument and vacating the sentence. Garner filed a pro se notice of appeal, relating to the effectiveness of counsel issue. In the meantime, the district court held the resentencing hearing and reduced Garner’s sentence to 248 months. Garner did not file timely notice of appeal from that judgment, but appealed from the new criminal judgment. The Seventh Circuit dismissed his original appeal, stating that the fact that the court accepted one reason for its outcome and rejected another is of no importance. The court vacated the resentencing, however, and remanded for full resentencing, at which both sides will be free to present all their arguments, including those related to ineffective assistance.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.