From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Rollins v. Warden, FCI Petersburg Medium

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Sep 14, 2021
No. 21-6739 (4th Cir. Sep. 14, 2021)

Opinion

21-6739

09-14-2021

CHRISTOPHER ROLLINS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN, FCI Petersburg Medium, Respondent-Appellee.

Christopher Rollins, Appellant Pro Se.


UNPUBLISHED

Submitted: September 9, 2021

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Elizabeth W. Hanes, Magistrate Judge. (3:19-cv-00844-EWH)

Christopher Rollins, Appellant Pro Se.

Before MOTZ, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM

Christopher Rollins, a federal prisoner, appeals the magistrate judge's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition in which he sought to challenge his conviction and sentence by way of the savings clause in 28 U.S.C. § 2255.[*] Pursuant to § 2255(e), a prisoner may challenge his conviction and sentence in a traditional writ of habeas corpus under § 2241 if a § 2255 motion would be inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention. Here, the magistrate judge correctly determined that Rollins may not challenge the validity of his conviction and sentence through a § 2241 petition, as the conduct for which he was convicted remains criminal, In re Jones, 226 F.3d 328, 333-34 (4th Cir. 2000), and he failed to identify a sentencing error sufficiently grave to be deemed a fundamental defect, United States v. Wheeler, 886 F.3d 415, 429 (4th Cir. 2018); see also Braswell v. Smith, 952 F.3d 441, 450 (4th Cir. 2020) ("[A] fundamental defect or a complete miscarriage of justice has not occurred where the petitioner was sentenced as a career offender under an advisory Guidelines scheme." (internal quotation marks omitted)). Accordingly, we affirm the magistrate judge's order. See Rollins v. Warden, No. 3:19-cv-00844-EWH (E.D. Va. Mar. 8, 2021). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED [*] The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).


Summaries of

Rollins v. Warden, FCI Petersburg Medium

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Sep 14, 2021
No. 21-6739 (4th Cir. Sep. 14, 2021)
Case details for

Rollins v. Warden, FCI Petersburg Medium

Case Details

Full title:CHRISTOPHER ROLLINS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN, FCI Petersburg…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Date published: Sep 14, 2021

Citations

No. 21-6739 (4th Cir. Sep. 14, 2021)

Citing Cases

McKinnon v. Warden of FCI Williamsburg

; Rollins v. Warden, 858 Fed.Appx. 112 (4th Cir. 2021) (same); Grammer v. Warden, 857 Fed.Appx. 737 (4th Cir.…