JAMES E. SHADID, Chief District Judge.
This matter is now before the Court on Petitioner Hughes' Motion to Reconsider the dismissal of his § 2255 Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence, Motion for Certificate of Appealability, and Motion for Stay. For the reasons set forth below, Petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration [7] is DENIED, his Motion for Certificate of Appealability [8] is DENIED, and his Motion for Stay [9] is also DENIED.
Petitioner Hughes filed this § 2255 action seeking to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2251 (2015), arguing that he should not have been sentenced as a career offender under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines because his conviction for aggravated battery no longer qualifies as a crime of violence. Hughes pled guilty to knowingly possessing cocaine base (crack) with the intent to deliver and received an enhanced sentence of 180 months' imprisonment on April 30, 2010. The Court dismissed the § 2255 motion without prejudice as premature, given that Johnson-like relief has not been extended to cases attacking the career offender enhancement on collateral review.
"Motions for reconsideration serve a limited function: to correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence." Caisse Nationale de Credit v. CBI Industries, 90 F.3d 1264, 1269 (7
Hughes' Motion correctly argues that the Seventh Circuit decision in United States v. Hurlburt, ___ F.3d ___, 2016 WL 4506717 (7
To obtain a certificate of appealability, a petitioner must make "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C § 2253(c)(2). The petitioner must also show that "jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling."
Here, no reasonable jurist could conclude that Hughes' claims are based on a misapplication of Hurlburt and are not yet ripe for consideration until the Supreme Court issues its decision in Beckles. Accordingly, this Court will not issue him a certificate of appealability or a stay, as the dismissal without prejudice protects his right to refile his § 2255 motion if Beckles opens the door by extending relief to cases challenging enhancement under the career offender guideline on collateral attack and starts the 1-year period of limitations for these types of claims.
For the reasons stated above, Petitioner Hughes' Motion to Reconsider [7], Motion for Certificate of Appealability [8] and Motion for Stay [9] are all DENIED.