US v. Maurice Melvin

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Motion disposition in opinion--granting Motion to vacate and remand case [999675564-2] Originating case number: 5:12-cr-00323-F-1. Copies to all parties and the district court. [999685886]. [13-4857]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4857

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
MAURICE LASHAWN MELVIN, a/k/a Maurice Leshawn Melvin,
Defendant - Appellant.

On Remand from the Supreme Court of the United States.
(S. Ct. No. 14-6510)

Submitted:

October 20, 2015

Decided:

October 26, 2015

Before MOTZ, GREGORY, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Eric J. Brignac,
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Raleigh, North Carolina,
for Appellant. Thomas G. Walker, United States Attorney,
Jennifer P. May-Parker, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United
States Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Maurice Lashawn Melvin pled guilty, pursuant to a written
plea agreement, to possessing a firearm after being convicted of
a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924 (2012).
He was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) to
159

months

in

prison.

On

appeal,

Melvin

argued

that

the

sentencing court erred in determining that his two prior North
Carolina convictions for conspiracy to commit robbery with a
dangerous weapon constituted predicate offenses under the ACCA.
We

rejected

the

argument

because

it

was

foreclosed

by

this

court’s decision in United States v. White, 571 F.3d 365, 371
(4th

Cir.

2009)

(holding

North

Carolina

conviction

for

conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon constitutes
a

predicate

violent

felony

affirmed Melvin’s sentence.

under

ACCA).

Accordingly,

we

See United States v. Melvin, 577

F. App’x 179 (4th Cir. 2014) (No. 13-4857).
On

June

30,

2015,

the

Supreme

Court

granted

Melvin’s

petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment, and
remanded to this court for further consideration in light of
Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015).

In Johnson,

the Supreme Court held that the residual clause of the ACCA—the
final clause of § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) (2012)—is unconstitutionally
vague.

135 S. Ct. at

2557 (“[T]he indeterminacy of the wide-

ranging inquiry required by the residual clause both denies fair
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notice

to

judges.

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defendants
Increasing

and

a

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invites

arbitrary

defendant’s

sentence

enforcement

under

the

by

clause

denies due process of law.”).
Melvin now argues, and the Government concedes, that under
Johnson Melvin’s conspiracy convictions no longer support his
ACCA sentence.
three

predicate

criminal.
motion

to

Without these convictions, Melvin does not have
offenses

Accordingly,
vacate

the

to
we

qualify
grant

judgment

district court for resentencing.

him

the

and

as

an

armed

Government’s

remand

the

career

unopposed

case

to

the

We dispense with oral argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented
in the materials before this court and argument would not aid in
the decisional process.
VACATED AND REMANDED

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