Opinion
Criminal No. CCB-13-0170 Civil No. CCB-16-1918
06-11-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CECIL TOWNSEND
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Cecil Townsend, a federal prisoner, has filed a motion to vacate judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (ECF 59, 60). Now pending is defense counsel's motion to withdraw as attorney (ECF 71).
Defense counsel was appointed to the case to challenge the constitutionality of Townsend's 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) conviction (where Hobbs Act robbery constituted the underlying "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). As the Fourth Circuit's decision in United States v. Mathis, 932 F.3d 242, 266 (4th Cir. 2019), forecloses that argument, the court will grant defense counsel's motion to withdraw.
Recent correspondence from Townsend suggests that he is planning to supplement his § 2255 motion. The court will thus grant him 30 days to supplement the motion if he so chooses. In response to Townsend's requests for his sentencing transcript (ECF 66, 68), the court notes that he will have to either pay to have the transcript prepared or demonstrate a need for the transcript sufficient to entitle him to have it prepared at government expense.
Accordingly, the motion to withdraw as attorney (ECF 71) is GRANTED. If Townsend wishes to supplement his § 2255 motion, he must do so within 30 DAYS of the entry of this Order. The Clerk shall SEND a copy of this Memorandum and Order to Townsend and counsel of record.
So Ordered this 11th day of June, 2020.
/S/_________
Catherine C. Blake
United States District Judge