United States v. Perez

FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit March 30, 2017 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court TENTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 16-2271 (D.C. Nos. 2:16-CV-00545-RB-SMV CARLOS PEREZ, and 2:04-CR-01308-RB-1) (D.N.M.) Defendant - Appellant. ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY Before KELLY, MURPHY, and MATHESON, Circuit Judges. Defendant-Appellant Carlos Perez seeks a certificate of appealability (“COA”) to appeal from the district court’s denial of his motion to correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Mr. Perez contends that the calculation of his sentencing guideline range relied on language found unconstitutionally vague in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015). See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2). The district court found that Mr. Perez’s status as a career offender resulted from the application of an enumerated offense (burglary of a dwelling) in § 4B1.2(a), not the language found wanting in Johnson. But even had that language been applied, the Supreme Court recently held that the void-for-vagueness holding in Johnson does not apply to the Sentencing Guidelines. Beckles v. United States, No. 15-8544, 2017 WL 855781, at *6–7 (U.S. Mar. 6, 2017). Accordingly, we DENY Mr. Perez’s request for a COA and DISMISS the appeal. Entered for the Court Paul J. Kelly, Jr. Circuit Judge -2-