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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-13110
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
ANDRE SAINT-CYR,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent-Appellee.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
D.C. Docket Nos. 0:20-cv-61184-WPD,
0:13-cr-30267-WPD-2
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-13110
____________________
Before WILSON, BRANCH, and LUCK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Andre Saint-Cyr appeals from the district court’s dismissal
for lack of jurisdiction of his pro se “motion for reconsideration . . .
or petition for writ of audita querela, habeas corpus, or error coram
nobis” on the ground that it was an unauthorized second or
successive motion to vacate sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. After
review, we conclude that it was not a second or successive motion
because there was a new, intervening amended judgment.
Accordingly, we vacate and remand.
I. Background
In 2014, a jury found Saint-Cyr guilty of conspiracy to
commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Count
1); conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or
more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A),
and 846 (Count 2); attempted possession with intent to distribute
500 grams or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1)
and 846 (Count 3); conspiracy to use a firearm during and in
relation to a crime of violence as set forth in Count 1 and a drug-
trafficking crime as set forth in Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(o) (Count 4); use of a firearm during
and in relation to a crime of violence as set forth in Count 1 of the
indictment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count 5); use of a
firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime as set forth
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22-13110 Opinion of the Court 3
in Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment, in violation of § 924(c) (Count
6); and possession of an unregistered firearm (silencer), in violation
of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (Count 7). The district court sentenced Saint-
Cyr to a total of 295 months’ imprisonment, which included a term
of 60 months’ imprisonment on each of Counts 5 and 6, to run
concurrently with each other but consecutively to the other
counts. 1 We affirmed on appeal. United States v. Cazy, 618 F. App’x
569 (11th Cir. 2015).
In July 2016, Saint-Cyr filed a pro se motion to vacate
sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, arguing in relevant part that,
Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S. 591 (2015), 2 invalidated his
convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Counts 5 and 6). The district
court denied the motion on the merits. 3 Thereafter, Saint-Cyr filed
at least two other pro se § 2255 motions that were dismissed as
unauthorized second or successive motions.
1 In 2017, Saint-Cyr, proceeding pro se, successfully moved for a sentence
reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c), and the district court reduced his term of
imprisonment on Counts 1–4, which resulted in a reduced total sentence of
248 months’ imprisonment.
2 In Johnson, the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the definition of a
violent felony in the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii),
as unconstitutionally vague. 576 U.S. at 596–97. Section 924(c)(3)’s definition
of a crime of violence contained similar language to that struck down in
Johnson. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B). Therefore, Saint-Cyr argued that Johnson
should apply to § 924(c)(3)(B) as well.
3 Although the district court denied the § 2255 motion on the merits, it
amended the judgment in an abundance of caution by reducing the special
assessment to $600.
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Meanwhile, in United States v. Davis, the Supreme Court
extended its holding in Johnson and its progeny to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
and struck down a portion of § 924(c)(3)(B)’s definition of a crime
of violence as unconstitutionally vague. 139 S. Ct. 2319, 2324–25,
2336 (2019). Thereafter, we held that Davis announced a new rule
of constitutional law within the meaning of § 2255(h)(2) that was
retroactively applicable. See In re Hammoud, 931 F.3d 1032, 1038–
39 (11th Cir. 2019).
Post-Davis, Saint-Cyr, proceeding pro se, requested
permission from this Court to file a second or successive § 2255
motion challenging his convictions on Counts 4 and 5 in light of
Davis, and we granted his request. The district court ultimately
granted Saint-Cyr relief as to Count 5 only, concluding that
conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery was no longer a valid
predicate crime of violence for purposes of § 924(c) post-Davis,
thereby rendering his conviction on Count 5 unlawful.
Accordingly, in July 2020, the district court issued an amended
judgment vacating Count 5 and the corresponding 60-month
sentence and related special assessment. However, Saint-Cyr’s
total sentence remained the same.
Saint-Cyr subsequently filed a pro se motion for a limited
resentencing and appointment of counsel. The district court
denied the motion explaining that Saint-Cyr had already received a
“limited resentencing” when the court issued the amended
judgment. The district court elaborated about its sentencing
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decision further in a second order denying Saint-Cyr relief,
explaining as follows:
The Court exercises discretion and declines to see the
need for a new sentencing hearing. Because a limited
resentencing was appropriate, there is no need for the
court to require Saint Cyr’s presence or to allow
objections. Moreover, there was no sentencing
hearing for a transcript to be prepared from. The
request for an updated [presentence investigation
report] is Denied. The Court does not share Saint-
Cyr’s negative view of the ATF sting in this case. The
Court has considered the factors in
18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and a 248 month sentence
promotes respect for the law and acts as a deterrent.
Wherefore, Saint Cyr’s Motion to Vacate Count Five
is Granted, but denied as to Count Four and dismissed
as the Count Six. The Clerk has already filed an
amended judgement, vacating Count Five and one
special assessment. The remaining 248 month
sentence remains intact. The request for
appointment of counsel is denied.
Almost two years later, on August 22, 2022, Saint-Cyr filed
the underlying pro se “motion for reconsideration of court’s prior
order or petition for writ of audita querela, habeas corpus, or error
coram nobis,” which is the subject of the present appeal. He
maintained that his § 924(o) conviction (Count 4) was no longer
valid post-Davis and in light of the Supreme Court’s then-recent
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decision in United States v. Taylor, 596 U.S. 845 (2022), 4 and he urged
the district court to reconsider its prior ruling. He also challenged
the validity of his conviction for Count 6, and he requested an
evidentiary hearing.
Two days after Saint-Cyr filed his motion, the district court
construed it as a § 2255 motion and dismissed it for lack of
jurisdiction, concluding that it was filed without the required
permission from this Court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2255(h),
2244(b)(3)(A). The district court also explained that relief was not
available under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) because that
rule does not permit “re-litigation of matters previously decided in
a collateral attack.” Likewise, the court noted that audita querela
“does not apply to this successive motion to vacate,” and habeas
corpus was unavailable because it “lies only in the district where
Saint-Cyr is housed.” Finally, the court explained that “[c]oram
[n]obis [did] not apply because [Saint-Cyr was] still in custody.”
Saint-Cyr, proceeding pro se, now appeals.5
II. Discussion
Saint-Cyr argues that the district court erred in construing
his motion for reconsideration as an unauthorized successive
§ 2255 motion because he did not seek to raise a new claim, but
4 The Supreme Court in Taylor held that attempted Hobbs Act robbery does
not categorically qualify as a predicate crime of violence for purposes of
§ 924(c). 596 U.S. at 851.
5 The government moved for summary affirmance on appeal, which we
denied.
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merely sought reconsideration of the court’s prior ruling which
was erroneous. He notes that he filed the motion under “several
theories” of relief because he was not sure which one was proper,
and that the district court has a duty to liberally construe his pro se
motion “under any vehicle that would provide relief.” Finally, he
maintains that he is entitled to relief on the merits of his claims and
an evidentiary hearing.
“Federal courts have long recognized that they have an
obligation to look behind the label of a motion filed by a pro se
inmate and determine whether the motion is, in effect, cognizable
under a different remedial statutory framework.” Gooden v. United
States, 627 F.3d 846, 847 (11th Cir. 2010).
“We review de novo the district court’s dismissal of a 28
U.S.C. § 2255 motion as second or successive.” McIver v. United
States, 307 F.3d 1327, 1329 (11th Cir. 2002). The Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) provides that,
before a movant may file a second or successive § 2255 motion, he
first must obtain an order from the court of appeals authorizing the
district court to consider the motion. See 28 U.S.C.
§§ 2244(b)(3)(A), 2255(h). Absent authorization from this Court,
the district court lacks jurisdiction to consider a second or
successive motion to vacate sentence. See Armstrong v. United
States, 986 F.3d 1345, 1347 (11th Cir. 2021) (explaining that without
the requisite authorization, “the district court must dismiss a
second or successive § 2255 [motion] for lack of jurisdiction”).
However, AEDPA does not define what it means for a petition to
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be “second or successive.” See generally 28 U.S.C. §§ 2244, 2255.
Rather, “second or successive is a term of art, [a]nd since it limits
the courts’ jurisdiction, we read it narrowly.” Scott v. United States,
890 F.3d 1239, 1247 (11th Cir. 2018) (quotations and internal
citation omitted).
“Whether a petition is second or successive depends on the
judgment challenged.” Patterson v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 849 F.3d
1321, 1325 (11th Cir. 2017) (en banc) (emphasis omitted)
(quotations omitted). “[T]he judgment to which AEDPA refers is
the underlying conviction and the most recent sentence that
authorizes the petitioner’s current detention.” Ferreira v. Sec’y,
Dep’t of Corr., 494 F.3d 1286, 1292 (11th Cir. 2007); Insignares v. Sec’y,
Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 755 F.3d 1273, 1281 (11th Cir. 2014) (“[T]here is
one judgment, comprised of both the sentence and conviction.”).
Thus, “where . . . there is a new judgment intervening between the
two habeas petitions, an application challenging the resulting new
judgment is not second or successive . . . .” Magwood v. Patterson,
561 U.S. 320, 341–42 (2010) (quotations and internal citations
omitted).
Here, as an initial matter, the district court did not err in
looking beyond the label of Saint-Cyr’s pro se motion to “determine
whether the motion [was], in effect, cognizable under a different
remedial statutory framework.” 6 Gooden, 627 F.3d at 847. In the
6 As the district court noted, although Saint-Cyr styled the motion primarily
as a “motion for reconsideration,” such a motion “cannot be used to relitigate
old matters, raise argument[,] or present evidence that could have been raised
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motion, Saint-Cyr sought to collaterally attack his convictions on
Counts 4 and 6, and it is well-established “that a § 2255 motion is
the exclusive remedy for a federal prisoner to collaterally attack his
conviction and sentence . . . .” Antonelli v. Warden, U.S.P. Atlanta,
542 F.3d 1348, 1351 n.1 (11th Cir. 2008). Thus, the district court
did not err in construing the motion as a § 2255 motion.
The next question we must consider is whether the district
court properly determined that the motion was a second or
successive motion within the meaning of AEDPA. The answer to
this question turns on whether the July 2020 amended judgment,
which vacated Saint-Cyr’s conviction on Count 5 and the related
60-month sentence, constituted a new intervening judgment.
We start with what constitutes a new judgment. The
Supreme Court addressed this issue in Magwood v. Patterson. After
prior to entry of judgment.” Richardson v. Johnson, 598 F.3d 734, 740 (11th Cir.
2010) (quotations omitted). Regardless, any motion for reconsideration
would have been untimely as it was filed almost two years from the district
court’s entry of judgment granting in part and denying in part Saint-Cyr’s
§ 2255 motion. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1) (providing that “[a] motion under
Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time” and, if based on certain
grounds, “no more than a year after the entry of the judgment or order” from
which reconsideration is sought).
Similarly, Saint-Cyr could not receive relief through the requested writ
of audita querela or a writ of coram nobis because relief was available through
§ 2255. See United States v. Holt, 417 F.3d 1172, 1175 (11th Cir. 2005) (“[W]e
hold that a writ of audita querela may not be granted when relief is cognizable
under § 2255.”); United States v. Peter, 310 F.3d 709, 712 (11th Cir. 2002)
(explaining that a writ of coram nobis is only available “to vacate a conviction
when the petitioner has served his sentence and is no longer in custody”).
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being sentenced to death for murder and exhausting
postconviction relief in the Alabama state courts, Magwood filed a
federal habeas petition challenging both his conviction and
sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 561 U.S. at 323. The federal
habeas court conditionally granted Magwood’s § 2254 petition
with directions that he either be released or resentenced. Id. The
state trial court subsequently held a full resentencing, but
ultimately imposed the same sentence. Id. at 323, 326. After again
challenging his renewed death sentence in state court, Magwood
filed another § 2254 petition raising two claims that were directly
related to the resentencing proceedings. Id. at 327–28. The district
court determined that this new § 2254 petition was not second or
successive for purposes of § 2244, and proceeded to address the
merits of Magwood’s claims. Id. at 328. On appeal, we reversed in
part as to the successive nature of the petition, concluding that one
of Magwood’s claims was a prohibited second or successive claim
under § 2244 because it “challenged the trial court’s reliance on the
same (allegedly improper) aggravating factor that the trial court
had relied upon for Magwood’s original sentence.” Id. at 329. The
Supreme Court reversed, reasoning that the phrase “second or
successive” in § 2244(b) “must be interpreted with respect to the
judgment challenged.” Id. at 332–33. Accordingly, the Court
concluded that because a new, intervening judgment was entered
following the resentencing, Magwood’s § 2254 petition challenged
“new errors” made at the resentencing and was not “second or
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successive” for purposes of § 2244(b). 7 Id. at 339, 342. In reaching
this conclusion, the Court left open the question of whether a
petitioner could challenge the original, undisturbed conviction in a
new habeas petition following an intervening judgment where the
State imposed only a new sentence. Id. at 342.
Thus, the government here argues that Magwood is
inapplicable because Saint-Cyr’s motion sought to challenge his
undisturbed convictions on Counts 4 and 6 which were part of the
original 2014 judgment. The government’s argument is misplaced
because we have since considered the question left open in
Magwood as to whether a habeas petition is “second or successive”
for purposes of § 2244 where it challenges an undisturbed
conviction following the imposition of only a new sentence, and
we squarely rejected the same argument the government advances
in this case. See Insignares, 755 F.3d at 1277–78.
Specifically, in Insignares, following initial § 2254
proceedings, the state court granted the defendant’s motion for a
sentence reduction, reduced the mandatory-minimum term of
imprisonment for one count of conviction, and “entered [a]
7 Although Magwood addressed habeas petitions by a state prisoner under
28 U.S.C. § 2254, Magwood and its progeny “also appl[y] to cases involving
§ 2255 motions” by federal prisoners. Armstrong v. United States, 986 F.3d 1345,
1349 (11th Cir. 2021); see also Stewart v. United States, 646 F.3d 856, 859 n.6 (11th
Cir. 2011) (“Because of the similarities between the provisions governing
second or successive petitions under § 2254 and second or successive motions
under § 2255, precedent interpreting one of these parallel restrictions is
instructive for interpreting its counterpart.”).
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corrected sentence and new judgment.” Id. at 1277. Insignares
then filed a new § 2254 petition. Id. Although the State did not
contest that a new judgment was entered for purposes of § 2244, it
argued that Insignares’s new § 2254 petition was nevertheless
“second or successive” because it challenged the undisturbed
conviction and raised the same issues as his first § 2254 petition. Id.
at 1278. We rejected this argument, and held that because there is
only one judgment, which “is comprised of both the sentence and
the conviction,” a habeas petition is not second or successive where
it follows a new judgment, “regardless of whether its claims
challenge the sentence or the underlying conviction.” Id. at 1281.
Nevertheless, we must emphasize that not every action that
alters a sentence constitutes a new judgment for purposes of
AEDPA. Rather, what matters is “the judgment authorizing the
petitioner’s confinement.” Patterson, 849 F.3d at 1325 (en banc)
(quotations omitted). Thus, in Patterson, we held that where the
state court granted a motion to correct sentence and issued an
order removing a sentencing condition that the defendant undergo
chemical castration did not constitute a new judgment for purposes
of § 2244. Id. at 1325–28. In so holding, we emphasized that the
order removing the chemical castration condition did “not
otherwise address the term of Patterson’s imprisonment,” and thus
Patterson was still in custody pursuant to his original judgment. Id.
at 1326.
Likewise, we have held in the context of federal prisoners
pursuing relief under § 2255 that a sentence reduction under 18
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U.S.C. § 3582(c) based on a reduction of the applicable sentencing
guidelines range does not constitute a new judgment for purposes
of AEDPA. Armstrong, 986 F.3d at 1349–50. In so holding, we
emphasized the many differences between Armstrong’s
circumstances and the circumstances in Magwood. Id. at 1349. One
key difference was that the petitioner in Magwood “demonstrated
in his original collateral attack that his original sentence violated
the Constitution,” and he received a full resentencing. Id. at 1349–
50. On the other hand, the petitioner in Armstrong had merely
received a reduction to “an otherwise final sentence in
circumstances specified by the [Sentencing] Commission.” Id. at
1349 (quotations omitted). In other words, Armstrong’s “existing
sentence [was] merely reduced to account for the subsequent
lowering of the sentencing range by the Sentencing Commission.”
Id. at 1350. We also emphasized that “by its terms, § 3582(c) [did]
not authorize a sentencing or resentencing proceeding, but rather
authoriz[ed] only a limited adjustment to an otherwise final
sentence and not a plenary resentencing proceeding.” Id. at 1349
(quotations omitted). Indeed, in the very preceding subsection of
§ 3582, Congress wrote that “[n]otwithstanding the fact that a
sentence to imprisonment can subsequently be . . . modified
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) . . . a judgment of
conviction that includes such a sentence constitutes a final judgment
for all other purposes.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(b) (emphasis added). “This
means that, even though the sentence might have changed, the
relevant final ‘judgment’ did not.” Telcy v. United States, 20 F.4th
735, 745 (11th Cir. 2021); see also id. at 743–45 (holding that a
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discretionary sentence reduction under § 404(b) of the First Step
Act did not constitute a new judgment for purposes of AEDPA).
Here, there are clear parallels between Saint-Cyr’s case and
Magwood. Like the petitioner in Magwood, Saint-Cyr demonstrated
in his authorized second § 2255 motion that one of his
convictions—namely, Count 5—violated the Constitution and was
not authorized by law. By its terms, § 2255 provides that, where
the court determines the § 2255 movant is entitled to relief, “the
court shall vacate and set the judgment aside and shall discharge
the prisoner or resentence him or grant a new trial or correct the
sentence as may appear appropriate.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(b). And in
Saint-Cyr’s case, the district court vacated and set aside the
judgment as to Count 5, conducted a “limited resentencing,”
determined that the same sentence of 248 months’ imprisonment
was appropriate after considering the relevant § 3553(a) factors,
and issued a new amended judgment to that effect. Although the
district court did not conduct a full de novo resentencing and Saint-
Cyr’s total sentence remained the same, the amended judgment
nevertheless is the operative judgment that authorizes Saint-Cyr’s
current confinement. The amended judgment did not merely
make a reduction or correction to his sentence like that in Patterson,
Armstrong, and Telcy. Rather, it substantively changed the
underlying convictions and sentencing package that together form
the final judgment by vacating an unlawful conviction and
sentence. Thus, the amended judgment in this case constituted a
new judgment for purposes of AEDPA. Magwood, 561 U.S. at 339,
342; Insginares, 755 F.3d at 1281; see also Johnson v. United States, 623
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F.3d 41, 46 (2d Cir. 2010) (holding that “where a first habeas
petition results in an amended judgment, a subsequent petition is
not successive regardless of whether it challenges the conviction,
the sentence, or both”).
In light of the intervening amended judgment, we conclude
that the district court erred in determining that Saint-Cyr’s § 2255
motion was an unauthorized second or successive § 2255 motion,
and the district court had jurisdiction to entertain it. Accordingly,
we vacate the district court’s order and remand for further
proceedings consistent with this opinion. 8
VACATED AND REMANDED.
8 We note that on remand, the district court should consider the merits of
Saint-Cyr’s motion along with any defenses and arguments the respondent
may raise such as AEDPA’s statute of limitations.