Paxton v. USA

Filing 8

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (See Full Order) IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion and amended motion to vacate, set aside or correct sentence 1 , 5 are granted. A separate judgment in accord with this order will be entered in this case. IT IS FURTH ER ORDERED that resentencing in Case No. 4:03CR601 has been set for Friday, September 2, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in Courtroom 14- South. It is the Courts understanding that defendant, through counsel, intends to waive his right to appear at the resentencing hearing. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is directed to docket a copy of this Memorandum and Order in that criminal case. Signed by District Judge Catherine D. Perry on 8/30/16. (EAB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
RUSSELL PAXTON,
Movant,
vs.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent.

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No. 4:16 CV 813 CDP

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Movant Russell Paxton seeks relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, relying on the
recently decided U.S. Supreme Court cases of Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct.
2551 (2015) and Welch v. United States, 136 S.Ct. 1257 (2016). Paxton was
sentenced in 2004 to 188 months imprisonment following his guilty plea to one
count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of an
unregistered firearm. United States v. Paxton, Case No. 4:03CR601 SNL. The
unregistered firearm charge carried a ten-year maximum, but because Paxton
qualified as an Armed Career Criminal under 18 U.S.C. §924(e), the felon in
possession charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.
The United States Probation Office, at the Court’s direction, reviewed
Paxton’s case and prepared a “Resentencing Report,” which concluded that after
Johnson and Welch, Paxton faced only the ten-year maximum sentence under 18

U.S.C. §924(a)(1) for the felon in possession charge. The report concluded that the
proper range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines is 110 to 137 months.
Both defense counsel and the government agree that Paxton should be
resentenced. I have therefore set the case for resentencing, and I will grant this §
2255 motion.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion and amended motion to
vacate, set aside or correct sentence [1,5] are granted. A separate judgment in
accord with this order will be entered in this case.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that resentencing in Case No. 4:03CR601
has been set for Friday, September 2, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in Courtroom 14South. It is the Court’s understanding that defendant, through counsel, intends to
waive his right to appear at the resentencing hearing.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is directed to docket
a copy of this Memorandum and Order in that criminal case.

CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 30th day of August, 2016.

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