Shnewer v. United States
Decision Date | 02 March 2016 |
Docket Number | Civ. No. 13-3769 (RBK) |
Parties | MOHAMAD IBRAHIM SHNEWER, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. |
Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Petitioner, Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, seeks relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 from his federal conviction and sentence. Mr. Shnewer filed his § 2255 motion and his reply brief in support pro se. However, Mr. Shnewer now has counsel representing him. Mr. Shnewer was convicted after a jury trial (along with his coconspirators Dritan Duka, Shain Duka, Eljvir Duka (collectively the "Duka brothers") and Serdar Tatar) of conspiracy to murder members of the United States military. Mr. Shnewer raises several claims in his § 2255 motion; specifically: (1) ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to object to the sentencing court's failure to give meaningful consideration to the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities ("Claim I"); (2) ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to raise the sentencing court's impermissible use of religious beliefs to sentence him as well as a direct claim that this Court used his religion to determine his sentence ("Claim II"); (3) ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to communicate a plea offer to him or pursue plea discussions with the government ("Claim III"); and (4) all claims raised by his codefendants in their separate § 2255 motions ("Claim IV"). The respondent opposes the § 2255 motion. Mr. Shnewer then filed a reply brief along with an accompanying memorandum of law. Respondent then was permitted to file a sur-reply brief in response to Mr. Shnewer's reply brief and memorandum of law. For the following reasons, the Court will deny relief on all of the claims Mr. Shnewer raises in his § 2255 motion.
United States v. Duka, 671 F.3d 329, 333-35 (3d Cir. 2011).
Relevant to this Opinion, Mr. Shnewer was charged with one count of conspiracy to murder members of the United States military in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1117 ("Count 1") and one count of attempt to murder members of the United States military in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1114 ("Count 2"). Mr. Shnewer was also charged with one count of attempted possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) & (B)(ii). ("Count 4").1 Mr. Shnewer was found guilty of Count 1 of conspiracy to kill United States military personnel and Count 4 of attempted possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. However, Mr. Shnewer, along with his codefendants, were found not guilty of Count 2 of attempting to kill United States military personnel. This Court sentenced Mr.Shnewer to life imprisonment on Count 1 and 360 months to be served consecutively on Count 4.
On appeal, the government conceded that it would not defend Mr. Shnewer's conviction on Count 4 because it charged Mr. Shnewer with the non-existent crime of attempted possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). See Duka, 671 F.3d at 353. Thus, the Third Circuit reversed Mr. Shnewer's conviction on Count 4. On remand, Mr. Shnewer was resentenced to life imprisonment on his remaining conviction on Count 1.
A motion to vacate, set aside or correct a sentence of a person in federal custody pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 entitles a prisoner to relief if "the court finds ... [t]here has been such a denial or infringement of the constitutional rights of the prisoner as to render judgment vulnerable to collateral attack." 28 U.S.C. § 2255(b). "In considering a motion to vacate a defendant's sentence, 'the court must accept the truth of the movant's factual allegations unless they are clearly frivolous based on the existing record.'" United States v. Booth, 432 F.3d 542, 545 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting Gov't of Virgin Islands v. Forte, 865 F.2d 59, 62 (3d Cir. 1989)) (also citing R. Governing § 2255 Cases R. 4(b)). A District Court "is required to hold an evidentiary hearing 'unless the motion and files and records of the case show conclusively that the movant is not entitled to relief.'" I...
To continue reading
Request your trial