Saint Fleur: Denial of SOS to 924(c) defendant who committed armed Hobbs Act robbery

In In Re: Marckson Saint Fleur, No. 16-12299-J (June 8, 2016), the Court denied an application for leave to file a second or successive § 2255 motion (SOS) to an inmate who invoked Johnson as a basis for challenging his § 924(c) conviction. The Court noted that the indictment expressly charged that the underlying predicate offense for the § 924(c) offense was a Hobbs Act robbery that charged Saint Fleur with committing robbery “by means of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear of injury.” Thus, this offense involved the use of force. [Martin, J., concurring, noted that she was “increasingly wary” of deciding whether a SOS would fail on the merits. Judge Martin noted the lack of briefing in cases involving pro se applicants, and the many questions that arise when an ACCA designation is based “on old convictions under state law.”]