Wooten v. Cauley

• Decision Date: 12 April 2012
• Docket Number: No. 09–6405.,09–6405.
• Citation: 677 F.3d 303
• Parties: Jerry Lane WOOTEN, Petitioner–Appellant, v. E.K. CAULEY, Warden, Respondent–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

677 F.3d 303

Jerry Lane WOOTEN, Petitioner–Appellant,

v.E.K. CAULEY, Warden, Respondent–Appellee.

No. 09–6405.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

April 12, 2012.

OPINION TEXT STARTS HEREON BRIEF: Charles P. Wisdom, Jr., Valorie D. Smith, Assistant United States Attorneys, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee. Jerry L. Wooten, Ashland, Kentucky, pro se.

Before: CLAY, GIBBONS, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.

CLAY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GIBBONS, J., joined. WHITE, J. (pp. 311–12), delivered a separate opinion concurring in the result.

OPINION

CLAY, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Jerry Lane Wooten, appearing pro se, appeals the judgment of the district court dismissing his application for a writ of habeas corpus, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, to vacate his money laundering conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM.

BACKGROUND

Petitioner operated “Beck's Wheels,” a licensed business buying and selling automobile parts to consumers and mechanics as well as providing other automobile services. During the course of business, Petitioner solicited, bought, and sold automobile parts that he knew to be stolen. Petitioner and others working with him would cash a nine thousand dollar check every morning, bring the cash back to their business location, and use the cash to purchase goods for their business. Individuals lined up outside of the store and entered, one at a time, to sell stolen parts to Petitioner. Some of the for-sale items brought to Petitioner were unsolicited, while others, such as air bags, were stolen and delivered to Petitioner at his request. Petitioner resold the stolen items to individuals, mechanics, and businesses at a higher price than he paid for them. He shipped some of the stolen goods across state lines to his brother in Alabama, who operated a similar business, and to another purchaser in California. Petitioner shipped the goods by commercial carrier or drove the goods, by van, to the out-of-state purchasers himself. Petitioner's operation was discovered during an FBI investigation.

In 2000, Petitioner was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to transport stolen goods and conspiracy to launder money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; interstate transportation of stolen goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314; aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2; structuring financial transactions, in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3); and money laundering in the amount of more than two million dollars, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i). On May 23, 2000, Petitioner was sentenced to 188 months imprisonment.

Petitioner unsuccessfully appealed to this Court and moved twice to vacate his conviction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Neither § 2255 motion was decided in Petitioner's favor, and Petitioner was not granted permission to file additional § 2255 motions.

Petitioner subsequently filed a petition in the district court requesting habeas relief from his conviction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. In his petition, he asserted that the court had jurisdiction to review his petition for habeas relief under § 2241 because he fell within the “savings clause” of § 2255. He argued that the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Santos, 553 U.S. 507, 128 S.Ct. 2020, 170 L.Ed.2d 912 (2008), changed the definition of “proceeds” in 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and that he is “actually innocent” of money laundering under the new definition. The district court denied relief and dismissed the action, finding that the petition “appear[ed]” to be time-barred on the basis of the one-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(3). The court further held that Petitioner could not prove his actual innocence under Santos anyway, because Santos was not retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review and was not applicable to Petitioner's habeas petition on the merits.

DISCUSSION

I. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

The district court held that Petitioner's § 2241 habeas petition was time-barred under the one-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(3). Because Petitioner relied on the Santos decision as the basis of his habeas petition, the district court found that the statute of limitations had run on June 2, 2009, one year after the Santos decision was issued and over two months prior to Petitioner's August 10, 2009 habeas filing.

This Court reviews de novo a district court's dismissal of a petition for writ of habeas as time-barred. Souter v. Jones, 395 F.3d 577, 584 (6th Cir.2005); McSwain v. Davis, 287 Fed.Appx. 450, 453 (6th Cir.2008).

There exists a one-year statute of limitations for motions filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, see 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f), and for state prisoners filing certain habeas petitions, see 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). There is no statute of limitations for federal prisoners filing habeas petitions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Morales v. Bezy, 499 F.3d 668, 672 (7th Cir.2007).

Petitioner is a federal prisoner who filed his petition pursuant to § 2241. He merely invoked the savings clause of § 2255 to demonstrate that the court had jurisdiction to review his § 2241 petition. The use of the savings clause to establish jurisdiction does not transform a § 2241 habeas petition into a § 2255 motion subject to the one-year statute of limitations, nor does it force the § 2255 statute of limitations upon the § 2241 petition. Respondent concedes this matter as well. For this reason, we find that the petition is not subject to the one-year statute of limitations and thus is not time-barred.

II. ACTUAL INNOCENCE CLAIM

The district court determined that, even if the petition was not barred by the statute of limitations, Petitioner failed to demonstrate “actual innocence” and therefore was not entitled to a vacation of his conviction for money laundering. We agree.

A. Legal Background

This Court reviews de novo a district court's denial of a habeas petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Charles v. Chandler, 180 F.3d 753, 755 (6th Cir.1999) (per curiam).

A federal prisoner must challenge the legality of his detention by motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, but may challenge the manner or execution of his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. United States v. Peterman, 249 F.3d 458, 461 (6th Cir.2001). However, a prisoner may also challenge the legality of his detention under § 2241 if he falls within the “savings clause” of § 2255, which states:

An application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a prisoner who is authorized to apply for relief by motion pursuant to this section, shall not be entertained if it appears that the applicant has failed to apply for relief, by motion, to the court which sentenced him, or that such court has denied him relief, unless it also appears that the remedy by motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention.

28 U.S.C. § 2255(e) (emphasis added); Peterman, 249 F.3d at 461. Thus, through the § 2255 “savings clause” vehicle, a petitioner may seek habeas relief under § 2241 where he can show that § 2255 provides an “inadequate or ineffective” means for challenging the legality of his detention. The Sixth Circuit has found the savings clause to apply only where the petitioner also demonstrates “actual innocence.” Peterman, 249 F.3d at 461–62; Charles, 180 F.3d at 757.

B. Analysis

Petitioner argues that his remedy under § 2255 is inadequate and ineffective to test his detention because he is unable to bring another § 2255 motion. Specifically, Petitioner is time-barred from presenting a new § 2255 motion. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f). He has also been denied permission to file second or successive motions. See 6th Cir. R. 22(b)(2). Furthermore, successive § 2255 motions require the presentation of new factual evidence or the demonstration of a new rule of constitutional law, and Petitioner can present neither. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255(h). Thus, Petitioner is unable to use § 2255 to challenge the legality of his detention.

However, the inability to use § 2255 to challenge the legality of one's detention is not enough to prove inadequacy or ineffectiveness. Peterman, 249 F.3d at 461. “[T]he § 2255 remedy is not considered inadequate or ineffective simply because § 2255 relief has already been denied ... or because the petitioner is procedurally barred from pursuing relief under § 2255 ... or because the petitioner has been denied permission to file a second or successive motion to vacate.” Charles, 180 F.3d at 756 (internal citations omitted). Petitioner must also allege and prove that he is “actually innocent.” Bannerman v. Snyder, 325 F.3d 722, 724 (6th Cir.2003); Martin v. Perez, 319 F.3d 799, 804 (6th Cir.2003); Peterman, 249 F.3d at 461–62; Charles, 180 F.3d at 757.

The Sixth Circuit has derived its understanding of the definition of “actual innocence” from Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614, 118 S.Ct. 1604, 140 L.Ed.2d 828 (1998). Martin, 319 F.3d at 804. Bousley held that “[t]o establish actual innocence, petitioner must demonstrate that, in light of all the evidence, it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted him ... [and] that ‘actual innocence’ means factual innocence, not mere legal insufficiency.” 523 U.S. at 623–24, 118 S.Ct. 1604 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). One way to establish factual innocence is to show an “intervening change in the law that establishes [the petitioner's] actual innocence.” Peterman, 249 F.3d at 462. This may be achieved by demonstrating (1) the existence of a new interpretation of statutory law, (2) which was issued after the petitioner had a meaningful time to incorporate the new interpretation into his direct appeals or subsequent motions, (3) is retroactive, and (4) applies to the merits of the petition to make it more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted him.

In this case, it is clear that the Santos decision issued a new interpretation of the term “proceeds” as “profits” in 18...