United States v. Leones

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 97-7409 HECTOR SANTOYO LEONES, a/k/a Victor Flores, a/k/a Bic, a/k/a The Mexican, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. W. Earl Britt, Senior District Judge. (CR-91-52-BR, CA-97-331-5-BR) Submitted: July 30, 1998 Decided: August 19, 1998 Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges. _________________________________________________________________ Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. _________________________________________________________________ COUNSEL Hector Santoyo Leones, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Edward Skiver, Assistant United States Attorney, Bruce Charles Johnson, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. _________________________________________________________________ Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). _________________________________________________________________ OPINION PER CURIAM: Appellant appeals the district court's order denying relief on his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998). Appellant's conviction became final in 1992. On April 23, 1997, Appellant filed his § 2255 motion. The district court denied relief because Appellant filed his motion outside the one-year limitation period imposed by § 2255. Pursuant to our recent decision in Brown v. Angelone, ___ F.3d ___, Nos. 96-7173, 96-7208, 1998 WL 389030 (4th Cir. July 14, 1998), Appellant had until April 23, 1997, to file a timely motion. Appellant's § 2255 motion is therefore timely. Accordingly, we grant a certificate of appealability on this issue, vacate the district court's order, and remand this case for consider- ation on the merits. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. VACATED AND REMANDED 2