Coleman v. U.S.

• Citation: 329 F.3d 77
• Decision Date: 07 May 2003
• Docket Number: Docket No. 01-2263.
• Parties: William T. COLEMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

329 F.3d 77

William T. COLEMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent-Appellee.

Docket No. 01-2263.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: February 12, 2002.

Decided: May 7, 2003.

Devin McLaughlin, Langrock Sperry and Wool, Middlebury, VT (Peter F. Langrock, of counsel), for Petitioner-Appellant.

David V. Kirby, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, Burlington, VT, for Respondent-Appellee.

Before: WALKER, Chief Judge, SACK, and B.D. PARKER, Circuit Judges.

Judge B.D. PARKER, JR., concurs in the judgment in a separate opinion.

SACK, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner-Appellant William Coleman appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (William K. Sessions III, Judge) denying Coleman's motion to vacate his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. He raises two questions: (1) whether Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), applies retroactively to initial section 2255 motions for habeas relief; and if so, (2) whether Coleman's sentence violated Apprendi insofar as it was a mandatory minimum sentence that exceeded the range prescribed by the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G." or "Guidelines"), that was based upon a factual finding made by a judge, rather than a jury, and was based upon the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard of proof, rather than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard. We conclude that Apprendi does not apply retroactively to initial section 2255 motions for habeas relief. We therefore affirm the district court's judgment without reaching the merits of Coleman's Apprendi claim.

BACKGROUND

On March 14, 1996, Coleman was indicted by a grand jury for possession of cocaine base ("crack") with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 and conspiracy to distribute cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. On April 4, 1996, in a four-count superseding indictment, the grand jury charged Coleman with: (1) two counts of possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute; (2) one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base; and (3) one count of traveling in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1952(a)(3). Neither indictment specified the quantity of cocaine base underlying the section 841 possession charges.

At the time Coleman was indicted, he had three prior felony drug convictions. During plea negotiations, the government asserted that Coleman was guilty of possessing more than 50 grams of cocaine base. In light of his prior convictions, if a jury had found him guilty of the section 841 possession charges, and a judge had found that he possessed more than 50 grams of cocaine base, then Coleman would have received a term of life imprisonment under the mandatory sentencing provisions of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A).

To avoid this fate, on August 5, 1996, Coleman entered into a plea agreement with the government in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and the government agreed (1) to dismiss the remaining counts; (2) to recommend that Coleman receive a downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1; and (3) to include only one prior felony drug conviction in the information filed in the district court pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851(a)(1). On August 12, 1996, Coleman pleaded guilty in accordance with this agreement.

During the sentencing proceedings that followed, the quantity of cocaine base was the principal issue contested by the parties. The government contended that Coleman had possessed 53.1 grams of cocaine base. Coleman argued that under the Guidelines and 21 U.S.C. § 841, the term "cocaine base" did not include the weight of residual water in the substance that he possessed, so that he actually had possessed less than 50 grams of cocaine base.

The controversy over the quantity of drugs had serious consequences. If the district court adopted the government's position, then Coleman would fall within the terms of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), which required a mandatory minimum term of 20 years' imprisonment. If the court agreed with Coleman, then Coleman would fall within the terms of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B), which required a mandatory minimum term of 10 years' imprisonment.

The district court ultimately found that the government had established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Coleman had possessed with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base. Applying the relevant Guidelines provisions, the court determined that (1) Coleman's base offense level was 32, see U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1; (2) Coleman had earned a three-level downward adjustment by accepting responsibility for his offense, see id. § 3E1.1; and (3) Coleman had 12 criminal history points, or a criminal history category of V, see id. § 5G1.1(c).

Under the Guidelines, these calculations would normally have yielded a sentencing range between 140 and 175 months' imprisonment. But 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) requires the court to impose a mandatory minimum term of 20 years' (240 months') imprisonment upon any defendant who possesses "50 grams or more of a mixture or substance ... which contains cocaine base ... [and] commits such a violation after a prior conviction for a felony drug offense." The district court therefore sentenced Coleman to the minimum term of 20 years' imprisonment, 10 years' supervised release, and a $50 special assessment.

In his direct appeal, Coleman argued, inter alia, that the district court improperly included the weight of residual water in the drug quantity calculation. On January 21, 1999, we affirmed the district court's judgment, holding that "the residual water contained in Coleman's crack cocaine was part of a useable and saleable narcotic mixture," and was therefore properly included in the drug quantity calculation. United States v. Coleman, 166 F.3d 428, 432 (2d Cir.1999) (per curiam). On May 24, 1999, the United States Supreme Court denied Coleman's petition for a writ of certiorari. Coleman v. United States, 526 U.S. 1138, 119 S.Ct. 1794, 143 L.Ed.2d 1021 (1999).

More than one year later, on June 26, 2000, the Supreme Court decided Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), holding that "[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Coincidentally, two days later, Coleman filed a section 2255 motion in which he argued that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel and had entered an involuntary guilty plea, but did not raise the Apprendi issue. On September 11, 2000, however, he amended his motion, adding the claim that his sentence violated Apprendi. He contended that under Apprendi, the quantity of drugs should have been specified in the indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

On February 7, 2001, Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Niedermeir issued a report and recommendation in which he advised the district court to deny Coleman's section 2255 motion in all respects. The magistrate judge found that Coleman's conviction had become final on May 24, 1999, and that his section 2255 motion was not filed until June 21, 2000. Applying the one-year statute of limitations under section 2255, adopted as part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996) ("AEDPA"), the magistrate judge concluded that Coleman's involuntary plea and ineffective assistance claims were time-barred.

The magistrate judge noted, however, that AEDPA contains special provisions for section 2255 motions that are based upon new constitutional rules, so that if Apprendi applied retroactively to Coleman's motion, then Coleman's Apprendi claim would not be time-barred. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255, para. 6(3). Assuming arguendo that Apprendi applied retroactively to Coleman's section 2255 motion, the magistrate judge concluded that Coleman's Apprendi claim lacked merit. According to the magistrate judge, Apprendi's principles applied only to sentences that exceed the relevant statutory maximums, not sentences that increased the relevant statutory minimums.¹ The district court adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation in toto and issued a certificate of appealability on all issues.

In this appeal, Coleman has abandoned his involuntary-plea and ineffective-assistance claims. He argues only that Apprendi applies retroactively to his section 2255 motion and that his sentence — a mandatory minimum sentence that exceeded the relevant Guidelines range but did not exceed the statutory maximum — violated Apprendi.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

We review de novo the district court's denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Pratt v. Greiner, 306 F.3d 1190, 1196 (2d Cir.2002).

II. Retroactivity

This is the first motion that Coleman has filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.² It is therefore governed by the following time limitations:

A 1-year period of limitation shall apply to a motion under this section. The limitation period shall run from the late[r] of —

(1) the date on which the judgment of conviction becomes final; [or]

....

(3) the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if that right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review....

28 U.S.C. § 2255, para. 6.

On May 24, 1999, when the United States Supreme Court denied Coleman's petition for a writ of certiorari, Coleman v. United States, 526 U.S. 1138, 119 S.Ct. 1794, 143 L.Ed.2d 1021 (1999), Coleman's conviction became final. See Clay v. United States, 537 U.S. 522, 123 S.Ct. 1072, 1073, 155 L.Ed.2d 88 (2003) (stating that for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2255,...