USv. Chaney: Chaney pleaded guilty to carjacking
and gun charges in 2003, pursuant to a plea agreement where he waived most of
his appeal and 2255 rights. He was sentenced to 272 months – concurrent 180 and
188-month terms on the carjacking and felon in possession charges, with a
consecutive 84-month sentence on the use of a firearm charge. After the Fourth
Circuit’s decision in Simmons, he
filed a 2255, arguing that he no longer had a qualifying prior felony and his
felon in possession conviction should be vacated. In addition, he sought
resentencing on the other counts. The Government agreed not to invoke the
waiver on the felon in possession count, agreeing that conviction could not
stand, but opposed resentencing. The district court followed the Government’s
lead, vacating the conviction but leaving the other sentences intact.
Chaney appealed, arguing that he was
entitled to be fully resentenced. The Fourth Circuit dismissed the appeal as
being untimely filed. Chaney filed his notice of appeal 54 days after the district
court granted his 2255 and entered an amended judgment in the criminal case –
within the 60-day requirement for civil cases, but well outside the 14-day
deadline for criminal cases. The court held that Chaney was really appealing the
new criminal sentence – the relief provided by the district court in the 2255
proceeding – not the result of the 2255 proceeding itself (which was in his
favor). Alternately, the court held that the district court did not err in how
it resolved the case, relying both on the waivers in Chaney’s plea agreement
and the fact that Chaney’s sentences were not so intertwined as to trigger the
sentencing package doctrine.
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