Sotelo v. United States

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In 1995, Sotelo was convicted of three counts each of mailing communications with the intent to extort money and mailing threatening communications, based on threatening letters he sent while imprisoned for rape and robbery. The court sentenced Sotelo using the 1994 Sentencing Guidelines. Before the career offender adjustment, Sotelo's sentencing range was 77–96 months’ imprisonment. With that adjustment, the range was 210–262 months. An individual qualified as a career offender under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1 if he had two prior qualifying convictions and the offense of conviction was a felony and a crime of violence. Under the 1994 Guidelines, “crime of violence” meant any conviction that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another” (elements clause), or “burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, (enumerated offenses) or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another” (residual clause). Sotelo was sentenced to the top of the career-offender range. On appeal, Sotelo did not challenge his career-offender sentence. He filed his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion in 2016, within a year of the Supreme Court’s “Johnson” decision, invalidating the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review.The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of relief. Soleto’s motion does not fit within the 28 U.S.C. 2255(f)(3) exception for motions filed within one year of the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court if that right was made retroactively applicable on collateral review. Johnson, which applies only to the residual clause, does not address Sotelo’s conviction under the elements clause. Sotelo's claim hinges on cases post-dating Sotelo’s conviction, none of which has been declared retroactively applicable on collateral review. View "Sotelo v. United States" on Justia Law