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United States v. Baker

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jan 23, 2019
No. 18-7345 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2019)

Summary

explaining that such notice is not required when the petitioner has previously filed a § 2255 motion

Summary of this case from Chambers v. United States

Opinion

No. 18-7345

01-23-2019

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DONTE BERNARD BAKER, Defendant - Appellant.

Donte Bernard Baker, Appellant Pro Se.


UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. James K. Bredar, Chief District Judge. (1:11-cr-00426-JKB-1) Before WILKINSON and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Donte Bernard Baker, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

In 2012, Donte Bernard Baker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (2012); conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5) (2012); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2012). After Baker's first unsuccessful 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion, he filed a motion in the district court captioned as a motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (2012). The district court recharacterized that motion as a § 2255 motion, and dismissed it as an unauthorized successive habeas motion. Baker now appeals.

On appeal, Baker asserts that the district court erred in recharacterizing his motion without providing him the opportunity to respond to the proposed recharacterization. Here, the district court correctly determined that Baker's motion was in substance a § 2255 motion, as he challenged his § 924(c) conviction rather than asserting that an amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines lowered his applicable Guidelines range. Moreover, as Baker has already filed a § 2255 motion, the district court was not required to provide him notice of its intent to construe his motion as a § 2255 motion, as the court did not recharacterize it as a first § 2255 motion. See Castro v. United States, 540 U.S. 375, 383 (2003) (when "court recharacterizes a pro se litigant's motion as a first § 2255 motion," it must provide notice of the intent to do so) (emphasis added).

Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order. 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 in the decisional process.

AFFIRMED


Summaries of

United States v. Baker

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jan 23, 2019
No. 18-7345 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2019)

explaining that such notice is not required when the petitioner has previously filed a § 2255 motion

Summary of this case from Chambers v. United States
Case details for

United States v. Baker

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DONTE BERNARD BAKER…

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Jan 23, 2019

Citations

No. 18-7345 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2019)

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