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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
:
IN RE: :
: STANDING ORDER 16-2
MOTIONS SEEKING COLLATERAL :
RELIEF ON THE BASIS OF : Misc. No. 16-11 (JBS)
Johnson v. United States, :
135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) :
:
Upon joint application of United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman and
Federal Public Defender Richard Coughlin on June 20, 2016, see Misc. No. 16
11, the Court finds as follows:
1) On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in
Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), holding that the “residual
clause” in the definition of “violent felony” in the Armed Career Criminal Act
(“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii), is unconstitutionally vague and therefore
invalid.
2) On April 18, 2016, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Welch
v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1257 (2016), holding that Johnson applies
retroactively on collateral review.
3) Before the one year deadline on Monday, June 27, 2016, for filing
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 based on Johnson, the Federal Defender and others in
this district may file more than 150 motions seeking relief on the basis of
Johnson.
4) It appears that, based on motions filed thus far, these motions will
seek, among other relief:
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a) to invalidate certain sentences imposed under ACCA;
b) to invalidate certain sentences imposed under the career
offender provision of the Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. §§ 4B1.1, 4B1.2, and
under other Guideline provisions, such as § 2K2.1, that employ the term “crime
of violence,” based on an argument that Johnson also invalidates the “residual
clause” in the Guidelines definition of “crime of violence”;
c) to invalidate certain convictions under § 18 U.S.C. § 924(c),
based on an argument that Johnson also invalidates the “residual clause” in
the definition of “crime of violence” in that statute (i.e., 18 U.S.C. §
924(c)(3)(B)); and
d) to invalidate certain convictions under any statute that
incorporates the definition of “crime of violence” in 18 U.S.C. § 16, on the
grounds that Johnson also invalidates the “residual clause” in § 16(b).
5) Many of the motions filed so far in this District appear to be
“placeholder” motions seeking to state a claim but without full briefing,
pending the action of higher courts further explaining the contours of Johnson
and its permitted application. Several issues related to the application of
Johnson are pending before the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
6) All litigants require sufficient time to address claims based on
Johnson, and to consider the impact of matters presently pending in higher
courts. In addition, there are some movants who would be eligible for
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immediate release should their claims prove meritorious, and the parties are
best positioned to identify those individuals and prioritize their motions.
7) In order to orderly process and resolve this unusually large
number of contemporaneously filed motions for collateral relief, to provide
justice to those movants whose meritorious claims would result in immediate
release, and to permit sufficient time for the parties to litigate these issues, it is
hereby
ORDERED on this 23rd day of June, 2016, that all motions filed
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, or any other provision of law, seeking collateral relief
based on Johnson, whether filed before or after the issuance of this Order, are
STAYED. The parties shall promptly confer on prioritizing the motions
according to the considerations addressed in this Order, and shall move to lift
this stay in individual matters as they are prioritized and ready to proceed.
It is further ORDERED that motions or petitions raising claims based on
Johnson, filed on or before June 27, 2016, may be in the form of
“placeholders,” so long as the “placeholder” alleges that the movant’s or
petitioner’s conviction or sentence is invalid under Johnson. Such
“placeholders,” however, need not include full briefing.
It is further ORDERED that all persons seeking collateral relief based on
Johnson are afforded a period of up to 150 days from June 27, 2016 to file a
final memorandum of law supporting relief.
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