Opinion
Criminal No. CCB-13-0498 Civil No. CCB-16-1631
06-11-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BRYANT SMITH
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Now pending is Bryant Smith's motion to vacate judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (ECF 70), and defense counsel's motion to withdraw as attorney (ECF 80). Smith pled guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) & 2, and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a "crime of violence" in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). (ECF 63). The Hobbs Act robbery constituted the underlying "crime of violence" for the § 924(c) conviction.
On May 26, 2016, Smith filed a motion to vacate judgment, arguing that the Hobbs Act robbery no longer qualified as a "crime of violence" in light of the Supreme Court's decisions in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), and Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204 (2018). But after Smith filed his motion, the Fourth Circuit held in United States v. Mathis that a Hobbs Act robbery constitutes a "crime of violence" under § 924(c)'s "force clause." 932 F.3d 242, 266 (4th Cir. 2019). Smith's argument that his conviction for Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify as a "crime of violence" has thus been foreclosed by Mathis.
Accordingly, the motion to vacate judgment (ECF 70) is DENIED and no certificate of appealability is issued. The motion to withdraw as attorney (ECF 80) is GRANTED. The Clerk shall SEND a copy of this Memorandum and Order to Smith and counsel of record. The Clerk shall CLOSE the associated civil case, CCB-16-1631.
So Ordered this 11th day of June, 2020.
/S/_________
Catherine C. Blake
United States District Judge