In Steiner v. United States, No. 17-15555 (Oct. 16,
2019) (Wilson, Newsom, Proctor) (per curiam), the Court upheld the denial of a
2255 motion containing three claims.
First, the Court upheld the denial of the movant's claim
under the Supreme Court's decision in Rosemond, which required advance knowledge
of the firearm for aiding and abetting a 924(c) offense. The Court agreed with the parties that Rosemond
announced a new rule that applied retroactively on collateral review. However, viewing the trial evidence in the
light most favorable to the government, the Court concluded that sufficient
evidence supported the movant's advance knowledge and thus his 924(c)
conviction.
Second, the Court upheld the denial of a Davis claim
because circuit precedent established that aiding and abetting a carjacking
satisfied the elements clause.
Third, the Court upheld the denial of a claim that counsel
was ineffective for failing to object to the jury instructions as erroneous
under Rosemond. Here, there was
no basis to object because the trial occurred years before Rosemond, and
the court instructed the jury correctly under the law in effect at the time.
Finally, the Court declined to remand for a COA
determination on the movant's claim that the jury instructions themselves were
erroneous. The Court found that the
district court's order granting a COA on the three claims above amounted to an
implicit denial of a COA on this fourth claim.
Judge Proctor concurred in order to clarify why the movant
had advance knowledge of firearm in relation to the underlying carjacking
offense.
