Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Published Opinions

Thursday, January 21, 2016

McCarthan: no subject matter jurisdiction for savings clause relief

In McCarthan v. Warden, FCC Coleman, No. 12-14989 (Jan. 20, 2016), the Court held that the savings clause of 28 U.S.C. 2255(e) did not permit the district court to entertain a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging an ACCA sentence. The Court explained that even after disqualifying two of the prior convictions that had qualified McCarthan as an armed career criminal at his original sentencing – in light of intervening Supreme Court caselaw – three qualifying convictions still supported the ACCA enhancement. Consequently, McCarthan could not obtain subject matter jurisdiction to decide his § 2241 petition.