2255 Motion to Vacate Appeals
2255 Motions to Vacate, A reminder
A 2255 motion to vacate is a way to let the court know that a conviction or sentence was imposed in violation of federal law or the Constitution. Examples of things that qualify for 2255 motions are that the District Court was without jurisdiction to decide the case, a sentence was in excess of federal law, or the presence of newly discovered evidence that was unavailable at the time of the original judgment.
Under certain circumstances, a federal prisoner may file a second or successive motion to vacate a sentence. These are appropriate in cases where the Supreme Court interprets a new rule of constitutional law that was deemed retroactive. A 2255 motion must be filed within one year of when a conviction becomes final. A district court will review the evidence, the claims and the law and then either grant or deny the motion, sometimes after an evidentiary hearing.
Beginning the 2255 Appeal
After a denial of a 2255 motion, the claimant can appeal. A 2255 appeal begins by filing a notice of appeal in the district court where the case is out of. A notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days of the judgment on the 2255 motion to vacate. That time period starts on the date on which the judgment is filed with the court. The notice of appeal must be filed in the district where the 2255 motion was filed and resolved. A federal prisoner can file the motion or their lawyer can file for them by filing the notice of appeal online. In most districts, the notice of appeal is a plain and simple one-page document.
Federal Appellate Courts & Districts
In the United States, there are 13 appellate districts (11 numbered, plus one for DC, and a federal district). Each appellate district has a “circuit court” that handles direct appeals and appeals of 2255 motions to vacate. The court that will handle your case will depend on the district in which your case was tried, regardless of where the sentence is being served.
Ex: If your case was resolved in the Northern District of Texas, then the Fifth Circuit is your appellate district. This means that the Fifth Circuit will hear and decide your appeal.
Appellate Procedure and the Certificate of Appealability
2255 Appeals After the COA is Granted
If the Court grants the certificate of appealability (COA) then the court sets a briefing schedule for the 2255 appeal. Once a briefing schedule is set then the petitioner (usually the incarcerated person) will have some amount of time, usually around 45 days, to let the court know why the district court made the wrong decision in denying the 2255. The government would be allowed to make a response and the petitioner would be allowed to file a reply to the government’s response.
You may request permission to make oral arguments. However, the Court of Appeals ultimately decides whether to have oral arguments. After considering the briefs and potentially the arguments, the Court of Appeals will enter a final judgment.
Federal Appellate Standards of Review
There are different “standards of review” that an appellate court might use. Those standards of review include:
De novo review: the appellate court will use the lower court’s record but will rule on the legal issues without any deference to the lower court.
Abuse of discretion: This may be found when a lower court makes a decision based on “a clearly erroneous finding of fact, rules in an irrational manner or makes a clear error.” Compassionate release cases are an example of a motion that uses this standard on appellate review.
Clear error: “a finding is ‘clearly erroneous’ when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” This usually applies to situations where a judge makes a “finding of fact”, such as an evidentiary hearing in a 2255 case. (ex: the parties disagree on whether a lawyer made a promise to a client on how much time they would get. The district court decides that the incarcerated person is more credible. On appeal, the appellate court would use the “clear error” standard to determine the appeal).
Plain error: Used when a person brings up an issue on appeal that was not brought up in the District Court. The Supreme Court has promulgated a four-prong test for Plain Error:
- First, there must be an error or “deviation from a legal rule” that has not been affirmatively waived by the appellant.
- Second, the error must be “plain,” “clear,” or “obvious,” such that it cannot be reasonably contested.
- Third, the error must have affected the appellants substantive rights, meaning that it must be shown that it was prejudicial or affected the outcome of the lower court’s proceedings. The defendant has the burden of persuasion to show such prejudice.
- Lastly, if the first three prongs are satisfied, then the appellate court has the discretion of correcting the error only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.
Oral Arguments in 2255 Appeals
Once the parties have fully briefed their cases, the court can schedule oral arguments. The court will most likely schedule oral arguments if the “decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument.” The court will determine this on a case by case basis.
We frequently ask for oral arguments in our cases. The attorneys at the law office of Jeremy Gordon have presented oral arguments at several appellate courts.
Judgments in 2255 Motion to Vacate Appeals
Once the case has been fully briefed by both sides and the court has either had oral arguments or determined that it was not necessary, the court will enter a written judgment and an opinion. The written judgment will explain the court’s decision on the case, that is, who wins and who loses for this part of the litigation, and the court’s reasons for deciding such.
An appellate decision on a 2255 appeal can either affirm or reverse the decision of the district court. If the district court’s decision is “affirmed,” that means that the district court’s decision stands. If the district court’s decision is “reversed” then that means that the appellate court believes that the district court made the wrong decision and is sending the case back down for them to handle correctly